


Outrunning Karma

by RamblesAndDrabbles



Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Not Beta Read, character tags will be added as they're introduced to the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:13:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 60,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22248433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RamblesAndDrabbles/pseuds/RamblesAndDrabbles
Summary: They've taken one final job, and Alex intends to see it through, no matter the cost.This story follows the intrepid vloggers from Inside Eden's Gate, the trio known as TST who help others that can't help themselves. This is their last summer together and a man named Mark from Montana is going to be their final client before they go their separate ways. Things don't go according to plan though, and soon after arriving in Hope County they're forced to face their own personal hell at the hands of the Seed siblings.
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 12
Kudos: 21





	1. Where We Began

It was Alex’s turn to stop and get the mail for the trio’s online business. They’d just gotten back from their last job - which had taken an unexpected extra weeks’ worth of time; so he made sure to bring a box of donuts to grease the government wheels, so-to-speak. He walks through the front door and takes a sharp right, passing rows of mailboxes until he gets to theirs. When he opens their P.O. box there’s a yellow notecard with a bunch of dates on it. Package deliveries. Great. Alex grabs the mail that did fit inside of the small box and then snags the colored card to take to the front desk. He sets it and the box of donuts down with a smile.

The guy at the counter looks like he’s been there for eight hours already when the post office only opened thirty minutes ago, but Alex has long since learned that’s just what Terry looks like before 4pm. Alex slides the box of donuts over, yellow card laid atop it before saying, “We may have a backlog. It’s been a couple of weeks.” The apology of fried dough is accepted with a small sigh as Terry asks, “Long story this time?”

Smalltalk is one of Alex’s specialties and he slips into the polite conversation smoothly. “Yep, little bit of corruption here, little bit of blackmail there.” Terry’s eyebrows hitch up, “You post the videos yet?” He asks as he takes both the donuts and card in hand, turning to go and find the mail. “Yep!” Alex calls out so Terry can hear him as he rounds the corner.

He takes out his phone while waiting for Terry to come back and scrolls through his alerts. Sara asked when he’d be back with breakfast and he rolls his eyes, smiling fondly at the slew of kissy-face emojis. Hannah’s typing up a text in their group chat next, and “+1 to what she said” pops up next. Alex shifts the phone to both hands, about to fire off a reply when he hears Terry emerge from the back.

“Did you guys get more popular or something?” Terry means no offense by it, Alex knows, and honestly, even he’s surprised by the amount of mail awaiting them. An entire USPS bin is filled, precariously so if the packages dangerously tilting near the top are any indicator.

“Uh,” Alex closes the text message and opens up YouTube to check their analytics. “Oh.” Sure, their numbers had been steadily growing but what he sees comes as a shock to him. Old videos are doubling in view count and their subscribers alone are climbing. Their latest story is trending. Terry drops the box on the counter with a ‘thud’ and Alex cringes. Hopefully there’s nothing fragile. “Thanks Terry.” Alex says and Terry waves his gratitude off, “No problem dude. I’ll check the videos out on my break.” And then their conversation is over, niceties exchanged, and mail officially collected.

He pockets his phone in the back of his jeans so he has both hands free to carry the box out the front door. Alex times it just right as a woman is coming in who holds the door for him, eyes wide. He chuckles, “Never leave town I guess.” Which she laughs at, and replies with, “Noted.” He carefully makes his way over to where he parked the SUV and sets the box down on the ground. With both hands free he opens the back and then hefts the box up, grateful for the dead-lifts Hannah had forced onto him at their morning gym sessions.

Alex eyes the box in the back, wondering if he should cushion it or something. Eh, he’ll drive carefully and take any turns nice and slow. Decision made, he shuts the hatch and walks around to the driver’s seat. His phone buzzes in his back-pocket, but it can wait until he gets home. He turns the keys in the ignition and pulls out of the parking lot, being sure to take the corner easy – when he hears something crash in the back of the car.

“Damnit.” So much for that. The rest of the drive is unremarkable, save for the sound of boxes sliding back and forth. When he pulls into the parking spot for his apartment, he’s relieved to see Hannah waiting there. He hops out and walks around to the back of the car where she meets him.

“Sara’s about to gnaw her own arm off.”

“Probably has more nutritional value than the donuts I bought.” Hannah laughs, then whistles when he opens the back, showing the mess of mail that had spread as soon as the box tipped over. “This all ours?” She asks and Alex nods. “Yep.”

Without having to be asked, she starts to pile it back into the box and then grabs the entire container, leaving the far lighter box of donuts for Alex.

He moves around to grab them from the passenger seat and then hits the lock button while he’s there. The one on the key fob hadn’t worked since they jumped into that fountain to avoid being caught while trespassing for a story a few months back. Alex stands by it having been worth it – the keys, not so much. He jogs back to Hannah so he can help close the door, but she’s somehow managed to do it by balancing the box of mail one handed on a bent leg while the other braces her.

_Show-off._

Alex shakes his head, “You’re not human.”

“Takes one to know one.” They fall into step next to one another and head for the door to the apartment complex’s lobby. Sharon is working the front desk and she gives them a cheery wave, unable to say hello since she’s on the phone. Alex returns the gesture, smiling.

“She’s got a crush on you.” Hannah leans over to whisper, eyebrows raised with a bemused look on her face.

“Huh, weird. I was gonna say that she has a crush on you.” Alex genuinely had been about to say that. The two of them stop to look at one another before they glance over at Sharon. They linger long enough for her to notice them looking back her way and she smiles again, this time with a bit of curiosity at the pair standing in the lobby with their arms full of mail and glazed goods.

“Oh shit, go go go.” Alex says under his breath, turning and taking off for the elevator at a sprint knowing Hannah can’t keep up with the box of mail – wait, no she can keep up and somehow beats him, elbowing the ‘up’ button as she slides to a stop in front of it. “Unbelievable.” He mumbles while Hannah talks as if she hadn’t just destroyed his attempt at an unfair race. “Wish I could ask her out.”

“Do it.” Alex says encouragingly while they wait for the elevator, “She’s sweet, you’re kickass. Together you can-“ He stops short when he sees the flat look she’s giving him and then he remembers, “Oh. Right.”

Hannah was going off to join the marines after their summer together and he was going to be taking a job that had him traveling across Europe. They had yet to tell Sara which was going to be a today thing. The mood gets heavy quick and neither say anything as they step into the elevator and Alex pushes the button for the third floor. A ding announces their arrival and Alex steps out first, leading the way down the hallway to his apartment. The door’s unlocked when he arrives and he shoulders it open to find Sara sitting inside on the kitchen counter with her eyes on her phone.

“I come bearing donuts!” Alex announces with a forced enthusiasm. He’s trying to lighten things up and keep it that way before they tell Sara the news. “And mail.” Hannah adds from behind him as she steps around to deposit the box on the floor in the family room. Sara glances up from her phone, eyebrows lifting high on her forehead at the sight of Hannah walking past with her arms full. “Woah.” She mouths the word, awestruck momentarily before her eyes alight on the box of donuts and she hops off the counter to hip-check Alex out of the way.

“Mmm sugar.” Sara snags a pink, sprinkled monstrosity and Alex echoes the sentiment, repeating her mantra of “mmm sugar” before grabbing a donut with what looks like crushed Oreos on top of it. From the family room Hannah watches them, disappointed. “If I wasn’t around neither of you would eat a vegetable, would you?”

With their mouths full of sugar and dough both mumble ‘ _nuh uh_ ’. Alex keeps his donut in his mouth so he can have both hands free to pour himself a cup of freshly brewed coffee, courtesy of Sara who is already looking for another donut to take with her before heading over to the mountain of mail that awaits them. Hannah took up a seat on the floor, back against the sectional couch as she works on organizing the mail. Packages on the left, letters on the right, larger envelopes in the middle. Sara sits down beside her, donuts on a plate she must’ve grabbed out of the drying rack.

Alex arrives last with his coffee and half-eaten donut. He stands there while chewing on the too-sweet donut, watching as the girls organize everything into neat piles. He finishes eating, sets his mug on the floor and wipes his hands off on his pants, taking a seat across from them and starting in on the task of opening things up. “Oh, _nice_.” He says when he opens a package to find a shirt someone had made. It has caricatures of the three of them on it with the words, “Truth Seeking Trio” under it. There’s a shirt for each of them inside along with a note from the person who made it. Alex pulls his on over the shirt he’s already wearing. It’s a bit of a tight fit with the flannel button-up, but it works. Sara doesn’t miss the opportunity to take a picture and send it out to the group snapchat they had for the vlog. He makes sure to strike an appropriate pose when she does.

“I didn’t realize that last story was going to mean internet fame.” Sara says while looking at her phone and reading through some of the messages sent in response to the picture she’d just posted. Another picture was uploaded to the group’s twitter account. Alex swallows a mouthful of coffee before answering. “To be fair we were already doing pretty good but yeah, I was not expecting this.”

“Neither of you thought that exposing a government official tied up in accounts with associations to human trafficking would garner attention?” Hannah asks, glancing up to look between them with a look of ‘are you serious?’ on her face.

Sara and Alex glance at each other, shrug then get back to what they were doing. Opening mail and updating the social media accounts.

There are a few other interesting goodies in the bunch of mail like repainted funko’s to look like the trio, a love letter for Sara and a few offers of sponsorship with free samples. Those get thrown in the garbage. They’re about half-way through the mail when Alex remembers to check his phone. There’s an e-mail on his work account awaiting him. It’s from the company he’d signed a contract with for the upcoming job. He frowns, then sets the phone down.

“I need to stretch my legs.” He doesn’t want to break the comfortable silence while they read through the mail, but it’s better to get this over with now rather than later. Sara rubs her eyes and Hannah, knowing where this is going stands up and resituates herself on the sectional rather than the floor. She takes charge of the conversation, thankfully, giving Alex an out. “So you both know I was looking into joining the marines,” she begins, and then fixes her attention on Sara, “and Alex already knows – he was there when I got the call, but I’m going to be shipping out to basic in the fall.” It’s quiet then, with Sara staring at her friend in silent shock, but she recovers quickly. A smile stretches her face and she stands up, arms thrown wide. “Hannah! That’s amazing.” Hannah gets up too and closes the space, giving her friend a hug. She tilts her head and meets Alex’s eyes from over Sara’s mop of blonde curls and mouths, ‘That was easy’ to which Alex shrugs.

“How long have you known?!” Sara sounds excited for Hannah, but Alex wonders if she’s putting up a front for it because this means it’s the beginning of the end for their vlog. “Just a few days as far as the date for when I go.” Sara pulls back and holds her at arms-length, still smiling. “Wow. That’s huge.”

Alex feels a bit like a coward for not taking advantage of the moment to share his own news, but he justifies it as not stealing Hannah’s thunder. Sara is asking Hannah a bunch of questions while Alex sits on the floor, mind somewhere far away. He’s zoned out, their voices muffled and incomprehensible while he thinks about what the future holds for them. Sara had her day-job at the dentist’s office, but she clearly wanted to do something more with her graphic design and social media skills. Hannah would be enlisting and for a good reason. Her dad needed a stable financial situation with his declining health and she’d always taken care of him.

That left Alex, flying half-way across the world to do an actual television series starting in Russia and traveling across Europe, covering local stories. Would the three of them keep in touch? Sara and Hannah were his best friends, his _only_ friends. He’s snapped out of it, literally, when Sara snaps her fingers in front of his face and calls his name, “Alex? You alright?”

He blinks and sits straighter, smiling up at them. They look worried. “Just jet-lagged.”

“We drove to Florida for the story.” Hannah deadpans which causes Sara to snort.

“Car-lagged.” Alex amends with a smirk that gets Sara laughing. Hannah settles for rolling her eyes and then Sara curses, “Shit! I have to go meet my roommate and get groceries still. Don’t finish opening the mail without me!” She rushes for the door, yanking it open. “I’ll text later!” And then she closes it behind her. It’s silent in the apartment after she’s gone. Alex gets to his feet slowly.

“You chickened out.” Hannah states the obvious and Alex cringes. “I’ll tell her later. We’re supposed to do a video call cooking thing with my mom tonight.” It’s a weak excuse for not having told her about his job today. _Later_. He promises himself. Hannah claps a hand on his shoulder, “She’ll understand.” A sidelong look to the pile of mail, “It’s not like we could’ve done the YouTube thing forever.”

Alex silently disagrees.

“Five am tomorrow?” Hannah asks as she walks towards the front door, and Alex, standing in the same spot replies, “Yep. See you here.” For a five am run followed by a six am gym session.

Then she’s out the door and Alex is left alone in his apartment. Other than the mail on the floor it’s pretty sparse. He’d never decorated it outside of the giant sectional that served as his bed since the only other room in the apartment had been converted for a recording and editing studio for the vlog.

He carefully steps over the pile of fanmail and heads into the editing room, collapsing into the rolling chair. One foot propels him backwards towards the desk with his computer. Alex leans down and turns it on with a press of the power button then swipes his finger across the monitor’s power as well. While waiting for it to boot up he takes out his phone and mindlessly scrolls through alerts. There’s a text from his mom asking if she has the right time for their skype call which he confirms with a thumbs up emoji. Sara was getting the necessary groceries for them which gave Alex time to do some video editing. The lock screen for his computer flashes – it’s the logo for their vlog and his stomach clenches.

They’d been doing this since college, and now they had all graduated and were looking into other things to do with their lives. Maybe Hannah was right. It couldn’t have lasted, but he really wished it could. Especially since it felt like they were really gaining traction with their work. Pushing the news and making it pertinent to a younger audience through YouTube. Providing entertainment and legitimate information. 

The 8 digit pin is entered, the three all know it so any one of them can access the computer to work as need be, but it’s usually just him or Sara utilizing it. He opens up their cloud storage and starts downloading the videos from their last job. Most of the story is already out there online, but there’s still the follow-up interviews to edit as well as some of their closing thoughts. He also has some footage from their roadtrip that is them messing around in between motels and food stops. People seem to like those “filler” videos more than they do the stories at times, so he makes sure to get a few ready to post by tomorrow.

Editing is a dangerous pastime. One hour feels like half that and when he next looks at the clock he realizes he has less than twenty minutes before Sara is due back for their skype call with his mom. He jumps to his feet, and nails his knee on the underside of the desk in doing so.

“Ow, crap, _ow._ ” He grasps at his knee with both hands, leg lifted up close to his chest while he hops on his other foot for the door. There’s no time to waste. He still has to shower and put away the box of donuts from this morning. He should probably make a new pot of coffee, decaf since Sara has work in the morning. Alex runs for the bathroom, yanking his shirt off and momentarily pauses when he realizes he’s still got another shirt on underneath. Oh right, the gift from a fan. Alex unbuttons the flannel and his pants are quick to shuck off too. The shower that follows may go down in the record books. Hair shampooed and body washed in under one minute. There hadn’t even been time for the water to warm up, courtesy of the old buildings plumbing. He puts on a shirt his mom had sent him for Hanukkah, and some sweats.

His socks give him the ability to slide from the hard wood flooring of the hallway into the kitchen where he dumps what remains of the morning’s coffee and starts some decaf. Finally, a second to breathe. Alex exhales, fingers drumming along the countertop while he listens to the coffee machine chug to life. His eyes meander over to the pile of mail, still untouched from earlier. Sara liked being there when they went through it, and he didn’t blame her, but he’s bored and it’s not like he’s going to _open_ anything, just peruse.

Alex crouches down before the pile of mail and reaches out, fingertips gently pushing aside some envelopes over others. There are a few international letters which always gives him pause. The fact that they were reaching an international audience, which sure the digital analytics said so, but to _see_ physical proof of it gave him chills. A lot of the envelopes are decorated or have stickers on them, but as he shuffles through the letters, half-heartedly pushing some aside his eyes catch on a faded cream colored one. It has bent edges and looks like there’s eraser smudges from writing their PO Box wrong once or twice. He grabs it between thumb and forefinger then pulls it out from underneath the rest of the mail that had been smothering it near the bottom of the pile.

The sender has no name on the outside, just a PO Box in Hope County, Montana.

He squints at it, then stands up and goes into the editing room and leans over his keyboard, typing “Hope County, Montana” into a new google tab.

The results are a few scenic pictures with a valley surrounded by mountains and a winding river that feeds into a lake that’s probably perfect for fishing. Not that he’d know, he’s never fished before, but it has _that look_. He clicks on the Wikipedia page and reads up on the general statistics of the place. A tri-county area with one main ‘hub’ of a town. Otherwise it’s predominantly a rural community with a bit of a tourist attraction-y vibe to it with the old-town buildings and guided hiking tours. He’s trying _really_ hard not to judge but he’s surprised the place gets decent enough internet for someone to watch their YouTube videos. It has a tiny population, one where the livestock probably out number the people. They’d passed through a few towns like that while driving to the city to cover the last vlog story.

So…what was some unnamed person out of idyllic Hope County sending them a letter for?

Alex turns the letter over again, eyeing the sealed side. Sara wouldn’t mind, right? It’s just _one_ letter…

“My arms are about to fall off!” Sara’s voice stops him from tearing it open, and Alex leaves it on the keyboard, hurrying out into the hall to see Sara battling with a few bags of groceries.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t gnaw your arm off earlier then.” Alex rushes over and takes the bags from her and sets them down on the counter. She peers at him over what looks like some leafy greens of some sort and arches one brow. “What?”

“Something Hannah said when I didn’t get back fast enough with donuts. Anyway, you realize I’m fully aware my parents like you and Hannah better than me, right? You don’t have to feel bad about it and then let your guilt force you into including me.” His mom got along particularly well with Sara while his dad and Hannah seemed to bond over wrestling, of all things, one winter break.

Sara takes a break from unloading the food to elbow him in the side, to which he dramatically clutches at his wounded ribs and doubles over. “It’s a way to get you away from the computer and a break from editing videos.” Dang, that was _remarkably_ astute of her to realize, but they’d been friends for years now so it shouldn’t surprise him that she knew him so well. He pours her a cup of coffee, getting out some creamer before he goes to grab the laptop out from between the seat cushions of the couch where it’d slipped down last night.

“So, got any plans for life post-vlog?” Alex tries for casual interest, but his heart clenches in fear. His fingers wrap around the slim silver case and he pulls it out from the recesses of the couch with an ‘ah ha!’ He heads back for the kitchen to see Sara frowning into her mug of coffee. “Not really? Work at the dentist’s office, maybe do some freelance work for graphic design? How about you?” Oh shit. He kind of hoped she’d ask him, because it’s a perfect lead-in for what he would be doing, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to tell her yet. When she glances up at him from her cup of coffee, looking uncertain and a little off put it reminds him so much of when they first met.

Psych 001. Since he’d declared a minor in Digital Humanities he figured it would be elective credits well-spent. Judging by the reviews online, this professor may have his head up his ass and rely a little too heavily on his TA’s, but Alex was excited to learn about psychology in general so hopefully that enthusiasm would drive him forward in the course. His mom was ecstatic when she heard he was pursuing a psychology course and suggested he consider dual minors. It’s a big class, one of those hundred plus lecture halls that would probably be filled the first week of class then drop significantly as students stopped showing up.

This was his first semester at college. He was attending the University of Philadelphia on a scholarship for both academics and sports; Alex had no intention of slacking off or skipping classes. Which is why he takes a seat at the front of the lecture hall, beside a girl with curly blonde hair and a nervous look in her eyes. Alex doesn’t say anything, taking out his notebook while she fiddles with her pencil, gaze darting from the door to the whiteboard and then back again when the professor walks in. He has that _look_ to him, and Alex has a sinking feeling that the low reviews online were entirely justified. The professor connects his laptop to the projector and pulls up a power point with contact information on the first slide. Despite there being five minutes before the class officially starts he begins talking, interrupting the hushed conversations by introducing himself and outlining the requirements of the course.

He writes things down as quickly as he can considering the guy talks the way a sprinter runs. At this rate Alex is going to have to learn shorthand to get anything of value written down. Beside him the girl seems to be struggling too. They delve straight into topics that they hadn’t yet learned, to which the professor advises them to read the chapter he’s referencing as well as the one due for next class. At least the lecture hour flies by. Once it's over he drops his pen, wrist cramping up from the nonstop writing session.

“Do you think he likes the sound of his own voice or talks that fast because he hates it?” Alex asks the girl beside him who perks up, uncertain if he was talking to her or not before cracking the first smile he’s seen since the class started.

“If it’s the latter that’d be kind of perfect for a psych course.” She says and her voice is deeper than he expected, but in a nice way.

Alex chuckles, “Oh it’s for sure that he hates it then.” And then they both laugh and he starts putting his stuff away. “I’m Alex by the way.”

“Sara.” She answers and they shake hands.

“You taking this as an elective?” He asks while shuffling his backpack around to make room for the notebook he’d used for taking notes. This was his last lecture of the day with three classes before it. Putting all of his classes on the same days may have been a big mistake.

“No, it’s required, you?” She replies and Alex grins. “An elective. You got a class after this?” And she shakes her head no, but then nods her head yes when he asks if she wants to get some coffee and make fun of the professor together over it. Despite her being a year older than him, Alex felt protective of Sara. She was a lot less outgoing than he was when it came to doing anything outside of classes, but she slowly got more comfortable and crawled out of the shy shell she’d been living in. The more time they spent together, the less nervous she became and eventually he introduced her to his other friend, Hannah.

They’d become fast friends after that first Psych lecture, with study sessions usually taking place at his dorm room since he didn’t have a roommate, and when they no longer had classes together they still hung out in their free time.

Free time like waiting for a call from his mom in which she was going to share some sort of recipe with them in hopes of either retaining it. Sara probably could. Alex? Unlikely.

“Alex?” She asks, and Alex is forced from his memory to the present with a strained smile. Right, they were talking about plans after the Truth Seeking Trio vlog closed for business since it wasn’t much of a trio with Hannah leaving. Hannah _and_ Alex.

“Yeah, I think I do.” Alex is hesitant to talk about it, and while his poker face is legendary, Sara seems to pick up on his nervousness so she walks over to him, gently bumping shoulders. “Hey, it’s cool if you do. I mean you kind of had this whole thing going before you met us. You’ve always landed on your feet.” It’s about the nicest thing anyone can say about him given Alex felt like he was stumbling his way through life and didn’t really have a clue as to what he was doing.

Before they started their trio he had been popular on Vine, to the point of having an alarming number of views on his silly 7 second long videos. He quickly amassed a following on a personal YouTube channel where he continued to do silly things and people continued to watch him for it. His snapchat and Instagram had grown alongside his YouTube account, but when they formed the trio he focused a lot more on their group content. Yeah he pushed out videos for his own stuff still, but it often involved cameos from his friends and the videos were far less edited than their TST content.

“I got offered a job to be an assistant producer on a show as well as the host of it. The travel channel wants to tap into online streaming and I guess they liked my pitch enough to give me a contract.” His gaze is averted as he talks about it, one hand nervously rubbing at the back of his neck while he tells his best friend that he’s basically leaving her. The silence is stretching on for too long and Alex rushes to fill it, “I mean, I plan on doing my own stuff still, obviously, but it can’t conflict with their content and I figured since Hannah was going off to the marines that it was as good a time as any to branch out and earn a paycheck from someone else, and I should’ve said something to you sooner but I didn’t want to hurt your feelings and holy crap, _breathing_ -” He cuts himself off to inhale because he’d exhaled everything out during his long rant which has Sara covering her mouth with one hand as she laughs softly.

“Alex, it’s fine.” She pulls him into a hug and Alex firmly wraps his arms around her, maybe it’s a bit like a python in terms of tightness, but she doesn’t object to the squeeze.

“This sucks though. I like what we do.” Alex tilts his head and closes his eyes, talking into her hair which smelled a lot like his own shampoo. She must’ve used his shower earlier that morning. “I’ve never had friends like you two and,” he exhales shakily, voice clogged with emotion, “I don’t want to lose you because of a stupid job.”

Sara adjusts her grip on him and cards one hand through his hair, “Me neither.” She sounds as sad as he does. Neither say anything for a few minutes, they simply hold on to one another until Alex pulls back to look at Sara. She smiles, eyes wet and the expression is way too sad for him to handle.

“I’ll just have to get as many throws in as I can before I leave.” He says, solemn like a vow, and Sara squints at him with a confused look before recognition dawns but by then it’s too late. Alex has scooped her up and she’s laughing, kicking her legs and arms while he runs over to the sectional and throws her into the corner of it before diving after her and getting a headlock on her.

“Alex!” She wheezes his name between breathless laughter but he doesn’t stop with the tickling. “You gotta say it!” He pauses, long enough for Sara to get her breathing under control and she turns her head enough to stare over one shoulder at where Alex sits behind her. He’s never seen her look more serious than she does in that moment when she utters, “Never.” The wrestling continues and Alex eventually gives Sara an opening to turn the fight in her favor which ends with her triumphantly holding him in an arm bar and Alex grudgingly, dramatically mumbles, “Paisley is better than plaid flannel.”

Sara woops and lets him up, and just in time too as a chiming melody from the laptop fills the apartment space. It’s his mom calling and they haven’t set up the food like they were supposed to.

“Shit!” They shout at almost the exact same time, scrambling over to the kitchen where Alex shrugs on an apron while Sara pulls her hair back. He slides his finger across the touchscreen to answer the call and is greeted to his mom in their Manhattan apartment’s kitchen with his oma and opa seen in the background at the kitchen table. There’s a chorus of “Guten tag” and a “shalom” from his mom which he returns the greetings in kind, Sara doing the same.

The lack of prep work gives them time to catch up with his mom who talks about her work at the hospital in between questions about their latest story. She’s always worried about their safety pertaining to the vlog, especially with them getting involved in politics now and she encourages them to take on an easier case for their next series. The cooking lesson goes smoothly, with Sara taking the helm as Alex acts as sous-chef and assists where need be. They learn how to make some kind of fish dish that is good cold or hot and Alex vaguely remembers his mom making it for Sabbath when he was a kid. Once it’s finished cooking on both ends of the call they sit and eat together with his grandparents and mom in frame while Sara and Alex huddle together at the sectional.

It’s great but Alex can’t help but taste the bitter reminder of his childhood with each bite. He takes the dishes to the sink so his mom and Sara can talk without him for a bit. Despite the unexpected trip down memory lane, it was a nice meal and it’s the first time he’s seen his mom’s face in months. From the sink he can hear her asking Sara when they plan on coming to visit and how she wants to take her to an exhibit at a nearby museum that will be there until the fall. Sara is polite with her nonanswers, and she promises they’ll make a trip out if they don’t get busy on another story before the summer is over.

He returns with leftover donuts for dessert which has his mom sighing in disapproval. Sara, the traitor she is doesn’t take one which makes him look bad. His mom lists off all of the studies that they’re doing on processed sugars and the impact it has on neuronal health. His mom ends the call when her cell phone starts ringing. Its work so she has to take it. They say goodbye and Sara closes the laptop with a fond smile on her face.

Alex studies her, thinking about how she didn’t have the kind of mom he did, or dad for that matter. She lost her dad as a kid and her mom hadn’t been fit to raise her so she’d been in the foster system. He’s glad his parents, his mom especially, took to her and integrated her into their family. Her and Hannah are both like the sisters he never had but Sara is especially close to them. Alex scoots closer on the couch and slings an arm around her which she leans into, laying her head on his shoulder.

“Thanks for doing this, she really loves you.” Alex’s voice is hushed. He feels like if he talks too loud he’ll ruin the serene feeling.

From the corner of his eye he sees Sara’s smile grow, and then they both lean back, kicking their feet up and getting comfortable while leaning on one another. It doesn’t take long for the two of them to drift off like that, with their stomachs full.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is going to follow what I've dubbed the "Truth Seeking Trio" from the live action short of Inside Eden's Gate. 
> 
> I take a lot of liberties with the characters, specifically Alex who is the main narrator. This story obviously starts pre-game with further liberties taken in regards to the sequence of the movie's events. This gives the trio some extra time to develop and interact with Hope County's residents.
> 
> I've already written out a good portion of the story ahead of time which means I can comfortably post chapter updates once a week and stay ahead of the curve in finishing up the story. I am not 100% certain of the total number of chapters we will end on but I have at least half written already.
> 
> My writing is pretty rusty and I'm not about to force anyone to endure beta reading it, so apologies for my weird syntax and writing isms, but I'm taking a laid back approach to writing. This is for fun and my own enjoyment, but I hope some folks out there have a good time reading it. Okay that's it! Those who have come from the tumblr writing scene /probably/ know who I am. Hi! :D
> 
> Thank you to those I wrote with and credit due for Sara's occupation as a receptionist and Hannah's motivations for joining marines to them!


	2. It Started With a Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex opens up a letter without either Sara or Hannah around and he can't shake the feeling that this is the final job they're meant to take. When they finally talk with the man who wrote it, they realize it's more serious than they thought.

“Rise and shine sleeping beauties.”

Alex makes a sound resembling a gurgle while Sara groans beside him. The lights in the apartment are flipped on and both scramble to cover their eyes. Hannah laughs at their antics but its Alex she’s here for so she grabs his wrist and helps him to his feet before giving him a shove in the direction of the editing room where he can get changed into his workout gear. He stumbles over the threshold, not bothering to close the door as he shucks off the clothes from yesterday and pulls on some shorts and a tank top. Alex can hear Hannah talking to Sara in the other room. Sara has probably burrowed her way into one of the blankets on the couch.

She doesn’t join them on their morning ritual routine of exercise and misery.

He squints down at his feet as he tries to figure out which sock goes on which foot before realizing it doesn’t matter. With his running shoes in hand he walks back out and sits down on the couch. Sure enough, Sara has cocooned herself beneath his nice fleece blanket watching Hannah do high knees interspersed with some dynamic stretches. He laces up his sneakers slowly, blinking blearily at them while he contemplates the life choices that led him to agreeing to be Hannah’s workout partner. Oh right, it’s because they were both athletes and thought it’d be fun.

Alex mumbles something incomprehensible under his breath but neither of the girls notice the conversation he’s having with himself. Or if they do, they ignore it since they’ve both been witness to early morning Alex plenty of times by this point.

His jacket is balled up on the floor which he grabs and pulls on, miraculously wrinkle-free. “Mail after work?” He asks of Sara, his voice sounding groggy and much deeper than it actually is. She sticks one hand out and gives him a thumbs up. That’s about as much as he expected from her this early honestly. Sara doesn’t have to go to work until 9 am so she has four hours to kill. Alex bets at least two of them will be spent going back to sleep.

 _Don’t be jealous_.

He looks over his shoulder as he and Hannah leave the apartment, just in time to see Sara flop over onto the couch and close her eyes.

Okay, he’s a little jealous.

Hannah gives him time to warm up with a light jog before they settle in for forty five minutes of running. On the way back they stop at a playground to round the run out with some body weight exercises on the equipment. It’s too early for any kids to be there _and_ it’s summer break so they have the monkey bars all to themselves. Knowing Hannah, she’d been up since four and already gotten a work out in, but she goes with the motions alongside Alex anyway.

“How’d it go?” Hannah asks in between a set of pull ups.

It takes his groggy brain a second to understand what she’s asking. Oh, right. Telling Sara about the job. “Better than I expected, but still rough.” He is a little breathless, having just finished doing some burpees before starting on the reverse crunches while hanging upside down.

He completes the series then flips right side up, landing on his feet. “I mean, we’ve all practically lived together for the past five or so years. It’s going to be weird splitting up like this.” And not just because they were going to different jobs, but to different parts of the world. Alex takes a moment to catch his breath and Hannah drops off of the horizontal bar to stretch out her arms. Space was limited in the SUV and they’d spent plenty of nights crammed in the back seat or the trunk sleeping together. Motels were a luxury they could sometimes afford but it was always with one queen or _maybe_ two full mattresses. Someone was always sharing space with one other person at the minimum.

It’s the kind of bond that has people asking them if they’re dating, poly, or what, and leaves most skeptical when they insist they’re all best friends. Alex doesn't think they're codependent but it's a big change and is going to be rough.

“Who’s going to make me go for a run in the mornings when you’re gone?” He actually sounds upset, because as much as he hated getting up early he loved spending time with Hannah, and they both liked staying fit. His fitness routine had gotten wholly integrated with hers.

They were different kind of athletes. Hannah was a sprinter and preferred bursts of speed and strength. Alex was better with stamina and long distance from his years of boxing and wrestling. Together they helped strengthen the others’ weaknesses. Alex was a much faster runner now thank to her and Hannah could throw a _mean_ punch because of him. Their teamwork on cases for the vlog reflected their time spent training together.

Hannah stops moving, her expression somber. “After basic we’ll set up some kind of long distance program to keep each other accountable.” It sounds reasonable, and Alex says, “Sure.” But he can’t help feeling like that’s not going to happen.

“Mile run back to your place and use the gym there to finish things out?” Hannah asks, putting them back on track for the workout. “I’d race you there but we both know you’ll win.” Alex replies, knowing the run is going to be an all-out sprint if they decide to race. She grins at him, and with one hand settled on her hip she challenges him by pointing out that his losing- “Never stopped you from trying before.”

“Hm. You’re right.” Then he leaps forward, taking off in the direction of the apartment complex with Hannah hot on his heels. The mile takes them barely seven minutes and he’s not sure if she let him win, but he touches the designated finish line tree before she does, just barely. It’s the first time he’s ever beaten her at a run and she squints at him, appraising him as both gulp in lungfuls of air.

“You’ve surpassed me,” she inhales, “strike me down now and become more powerful than all before you.” Somehow she finishes the sentence between breaths, sounding serious. Alex nods his head and steps closer, having to reach up to place a hand on her shoulder before he fake stabs her with his other hand. Hannah drops to her knees and holds onto the imagined wound, gasping out a groan before collapsing in the grass. She lays there for a few seconds longer than necessary and Alex frowns down at her, still trying to catch his breath.

“Did you do that just so you could lay down?”

Hannah cracks one eye open and smirks up at him.

“Nice.” Alex murmurs as he helps her up. They walk in through the front doors side by side. Sharon is there again, a smile on her face that indicates she’d seen their dramatic play but is too professional to call either out on it. Alex hustles to the gym, tossing a finger gun Sharon’s way which she returns. The apartment has a decent setup as far as gyms go. There’s equipment for cardio, free weights, a bunch of machines he doesn’t bother with and even a lap pool that is closed off to anyone under 21 before 11 am which is pretty great. The two of them head over to the weights, starting out their strength training portion of the day. Another hour flies by with them spotting one another and talking between sets. Once done Hannah high fives him and walks out. She could use his shower and sometimes does, but she has to go meet with her recruitment officer for something or the other today. He shuffles over to the elevator and leans against the rail inside of it, muscles aching pleasantly from the exertion.

When he gets back to his apartment, it’s quiet, which means he’s all alone. Sara left him a note beside a plate of pancakes she made for him. There’s even turkey sausage to go with it. She must’ve bought some extra food when she went grocery shopping last night. His friends are better than he deserves.

_I’m off work at 5 but we’re on trending still!! Also the Today show wants to interview us. US!!_

Alex grins at the note and sets it aside so he can go digging through his cabinet for some peanut butter. Once found he uses a fork to scoop some out and spreads it on the pancakes. Then he uses the same fork to cut them into bite sized chunks. Sara had brewed another pot of coffee, this one smelling distinctly stronger than last nights that he made and he pours a mug. With breakfast in both hands he goes into the office to start working on some editing. It’s only after he set his food down that he realizes he should _shower_ first.

The growling in his stomach gets ignored so he can go rinse off and get changed into some clean, comfortable clothes. The pancakes are cold when he returns to them but the coffee is still warm at least. He settles in at the computer, turning on the power and monitor, one after the other. When he reaches out to type in the pin code his fingers brush across the envelope that he’d never quite forgotten about since seeing it yesterday for the first time.

Hope County.

Alex leans back, eyeing it curiously. There’s no way he could wait until Sara was off work to read it. His mind was latched onto the curiosity of getting a letter from an unnamed source in the middle of nowhere.

He picks it up, slides one finger underneath the gap and tears it open, avoiding the side with the return address on it. The letter falls out when he tips the envelope over and something else flutters out to the floor. Alex leans down and picks it up. It’s a picture of a guy who’s probably around the same age as him, maybe older? Hard to tell but he’s smiling wide, laughing with an arm around a girl who has the same bright eyes and even the same smile as him. They look happy with a sea of green behind them and when he turns it over there’s a note on the back, _Mark and Linny 2017_.

Alex stares at them for a few seconds, wondering why someone would send them a picture from a year ago unless it was really important. He puts it on the keyboard, wedging it between the spacebar and the row of letters above it so their smiling faces are in his peripheral while he unfolds the letter. Whoever wrote it has slanting handwriting, all capitalized with only the first letters and things like ‘I’ being slightly taller than the rest.

 _I hope this gets to you soon. I’ve tried everything and no one is helping. There’s no one else left to turn to and if you can’t help then ~~I don’t think anyone~~ no one will. _Alex pauses at the crossed out words, considers the finality of no one helping and the way the text gets a little shakier like whoever wrote it was shaking. He keeps reading. _My name is Mark. I didn’t put it on the outside of the envelope just in case any of the wrong people get their hands on it. If they knew what I was doing they’d stop me. Sorry this is all over the place I’ll start at the beginning._

_My name is Mark. My sister Linny and I grew up in Hope County Montana. Born and raised. Everything was great but a few months back things took a turn here. It got real bad. There was this religious group that moved in ten or so years ago. No one batted an eye, Hope County is like that. Anyway it was fine until recently. They started buying up everything. Pushing people out who’d been here generations. They’re arming themselves like a militia and they’re kidnapping people. Some aren’t ever seen again._

_They took my sister. Linny. I included a picture of us. I don’t know maybe it’ll make a difference maybe it won’t. But they took her they did something to her and they’re doing it to others too. People are disappearing and the sheriff’s department aint doing shit. Please. Ive seen your videos you’re the only people who can help. No one else is. If somebody doesn’t do something and tell the world what’s happening here._

_I don’t know._

_Please come to Hope County. Call me if you can. Reception is lousy but please._

_Mark_

There’s a phone number with a Montana area code written beneath his signature.

Alex stares at the paper, rereading it a few times with his mind racing. This was a guy who was so desperate for help he sent a written letter with a picture of his sister in it. He was so scared he didn’t put his name on the envelope and even included a personal number to contact. Alex can’t make any promises and he sure as hell shouldn’t without Sara and Hannah around to confirm but he knows they’re going to be interested. He unlocks the computer and gets to googling.

The tab with Hope County pops up when he opens up his internet browser, having been saved from the night before. Alex skims the results but there’s nothing suspicious about the place. He opens up the main tourist page and a beautiful river with the words “WELCOME to Hope County MONTANA” is layered on top of it. The activities listed are straight forward, with a description that seems vaguely disturbing:

_With only 150,000 residents spread over 21,097 square miles, there is no better place for a mountain adventure or a river expedition. Southwest Montana is known for outdoor adventure. Whether you prefer a day of leisurely hiking or an afternoon on the water, there is something for everyone here in the outdoor mecca that is Hope County._

“You’d be lucky if someone came across your body should you die on a hike then. Got it.” And with that kind of square mileage it would be easy for someone to disappear without ever being found, just like Mark said in his letter. He clicks over to lodging next, and it looks like there are a variety of places to stay at. Outdoor camping, hotels and B&B’s that are the popular judging by the sheer number of reviews for them. The prices aren’t that bad either, but it’s the middle of nowhere Montana, so he’s not too surprised. Mentally, he runs through the numbers and considers the hefty paycheck they’ll be getting in ad revenue and increased merchandise sales from the last job.

Gas would be the big expenditure. Philadelphia is a ways out from Montana. He clicks back to google and decides to search for ‘hope county montana missing people’.

 _That_ gets a few pages worth of links.

The number of people that have gone missing in this tri-county area is staggeringly high. Alex clicks through report after report. There doesn’t seem to be any connection to any of them and weirdly enough a bunch aren’t even _from_ the area. There are some locals who seemed to go missing but a lot of these people are from Georgia, and the southeast. Did they tag along with that group Mark mentioned in his letter? Alex tries another search, this time for ‘religious commune hope county’.

There’s not much to go on when the page loads. The results are a mixed bag of mostly Christian organizations using the word Hope in their shtick somewhere. Nothing related to the area in Montana.

Huh, weird. As far as he can tell Mark’s letter has some valid concerns over people going missing but he can’t find anything about a malicious religious group that is kidnapping and forming a militia. Then again, would anyone be paying attention to Hope County Montana if that were the case? It’s the perfect place to drop off the radar.

A window pops up in the lower right-hand corner of the monitor to remind him that he has to upload a video and start editing content for his own personal channel. Right. With a good deal of hesitation, he minimizes the browser but makes a promise to look into Hope County some more later when Sara and Hannah come over.

The rest of the day goes by in a blur of editing videos, replying to comments, sorting through e-mails and finishing up paperwork for his job-to-be overseas. The visas are the most important part it seems, and he’s lucky he already had a passport to get started with.

Alex hadn’t moved from the desk except to stretch his legs and do the occasional set of push-ups or use the bathroom and his legs are definitely feeling it. Pins and needles all up and down his left foot, probably from sitting cross legged for over an hour. He hears the lock turning over from the front door and soon after the sound of Hannah and Sara talking to one another.

He glances down at the clock, a little surprised to see it’s already 6:00 and he’d somehow been working for over ten hours on the videos.

“Hey!” Sara pops her head in, leaning precariously at a horizontal angle as she peers through the open doorway at Alex. “I brought pizza.”

“Saint Sara, bringer of food and enabler of bad diets.” Alex proclaims with his hands thrown above his head for extra drama. Sara rolls her eyes. From the kitchen he hears Hannah shout, “And salad!” Alex visibly deflates, sliding down out of his seat in a melting motion. He stays there for a while, partially for the effect of it, but mostly because his leg was asleep.

Once feeling has returned to his foot he drags himself up and grabs the envelope, slipping the picture back into the letter and refolding it. Sara and Hannah are both seated on the floor where the pile of remaining mail is. There’s a box of what looks to be an extra-large cheese pizza opened, but untouched in front of them. They’ll get to eating after they’ve finished going through the mail. Alex snags three plates, a roll of paper towels and some sodas for the three of them, and then takes his seat to complete the triangle.

“What’s that?” Hannah asks, dropping her chin in the direction of the clearly opened letter that Alex is holding. He hands out the sodas and plates first before he gives her the letter. She opens it and frowns at the picture. Her frown deepens as she starts reading. Curiosity gets the best of Sara who crawls closer to read over Hannah’s shoulder, draping herself across Hannah’s back to get a better look at the writing.

Sara’s worrying at her bottom lip, chewing it out of a nervous habit that she’d never been able to fully grow out of. Hannah has a distant stare in her eyes.

“I’m thinking that’s our next case.” Alex finally answers Hannah’s question, and two sets of eyes flick up to meet his. “I’m thinking it’s our _last_ case.” He emphasizes a moment later, a meaningful look directed first at Hannah and then Sara. There wouldn’t be another VLog after this one. It’s the middle of June. They’ve got July and August to really dig into this case, but from the sounds of it Mark needed their help ASAP. The letter is set down on top of the pile of mail, with the picture of the siblings facing them.

Sara’s now seated next to Hannah with their knees bumped against each other and Alex across from the two.

“Have you called him yet?” Hannah asks with a calculating look in her eyes. She’s already thinking twenty steps down the line and Alex loves her for that.

“No I wanted to see what you two thought first.”

“It sounds kind of dramatic,” Sara begins, and laughs nervously, “I mean a cult? He didn’t say it was but that letter sure as shit implied.”

“Yeah I know, best case scenario it’s blown out of proportion and nothing to it. Just some guy overreacting to people with a different set of views, but…” Alex trails off, and Hannah picks up for him where he does, “Worst case it’s a legitimate story that nobody else has touched and we help someone who’s desperate.” Alex nods, expression grim at the potential of there being an actual militia in Montana that is kidnapping people.

The three of them are quiet for a few moments. Eventually Sara breaks the silence. “The Today show wanted to interview us tomorrow over a webcast. I got a copy of the questions they have. It’s roughly five minutes live. That’s all I’ve got on the agenda.” Her voice is soft, and Alex can tell she feels weird about this, but she confirms that they’ve got no other stories planned out for the summer. Just this one maybe.

“If either of you don’t want to do this, say the word. It’s all or none. We’re in this together.” He says it, and he means it, an air of finality to his words. Hannah nods, and looks over at Sara. “I say we call Mark first, get some more information and go from there.”

“We can call him now. Montana is Mountain Time right? That’s two hours behind so it’s early evening for him.” Alex says excitedly, quick to jump onto the possibility of talking to the guy who’s letter he’d only just read. Sara bites at her bottom lip once more then says, “Let’s do it.”

He looks around for his phone and spots it behind Sara on the couch where it must’ve slid out last night while they slept there. She follows his gaze and reaches behind to grab it then tosses it over to him. Alex catches it with one hand then looks at the letter, dialing in the phone number Mark listed before putting it on speaker.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

It rings through to voicemail with an automated voice telling them to leave their message after the beep. Alex sighs, but leans closer to the phone, “Hey, Mark? It’s Alex from Truth Seeking Trio. We uh, we got your letter and would like some more information. If you get this could you call us back? It’s obviously at this number on your call list but we’re interested. We want to help. Okay, thanks, bye.”

He hits the end call button and leans back, sounding put out when he mumbles, “Well that was anticlimactic.”

Hannah shrugs and puts a piece of pizza onto her plate, tearing off a paper towel to go with it. “Maybe he was at work.”

“Or maybe the spooky religious group got him too.” Sara says with a theatrical waver in her voice imitating a ghost or something, Alex isn’t really sure, but he smiles nonetheless. Of the three of them Sara is the most open about religion and faith. Which is funny given Alex’s Jewish heritage and upbringing as well as Hannah’s catholic family. Both had abandoned their religious roots in a way. He supposes Hannah didn’t have much choice when she came out as a lesbian to her family and only had her dad stick by her. Alex’s mind wanders, but he’s brought to attention when his ringtone goes off.

Everyone freezes. They’re staring at the phone in surprise, no one moving for two rings before Alex springs into action and answers it, hitting speaker the moment he can.

“This is Alex.”

There’s a few seconds of silence before a static-y voice comes through, “Uh, hi? It’s Mark. I’m returning your call?” Mark sounds nervous, and the three exchange a look of curiosity. “I didn’t answer ‘cause I didn’t know who it was and you can’t be too careful nowadays.” Mark explains, and he sounds more than nervous, he sounds scared.

“Hey that’s cool man. You do what you have to. Like I said we got your letter but we wanted to talk to you personally. It sounds bad.”

Maybe it’s the shitty reception or maybe it’s just Mark but it takes a while for him to respond. “Uh yeah. Like I said they, they took my sister. It’s not just her neither. There was….” The static gets worse, his voice breaking up like he’s losing reception, “named Rachel….be able to….the Father bullshit….it’s why I reached out to you guys.” Alex cringes at the gaps in the story he just told, but he lets Mark talk at his own pace. “I’ve tried the sheriff, I’ve tried the local law enforcement, but no one is listening! Soon we won’t have anyone left here. The entire country doesn’t care about us. We need someone to talk for us, to get them to care.”

That comes through clear as day and Alex rubs at his chin, at the sparse facial hair grown there. “I couldn’t find anything online about this group you mentioned. Can you e-mail-“

“No!” Mark interrupts him and then in a softer voice, “No. I can’t. It’s not safe. They’re fuckin’ everywhere. I only trust this phone since I just got it from the next town over.” Hannah’s eyebrows inch up her forehead and she mouths ‘what the fuck’.

“Okay, okay.” Alex tries to sound reassuring and make him feel less antsy about reaching out to them. “That’s fine, we can talk like this. What can you tell us about this group and about your sister?”

There’s movement on the other end of the phone and a moment of silence before Mark talks again, the occasional word getting lost over the shoddy signal. “Linny and I have been best friends for forever. She started…around them and now I barely recognize her. I hardly ever see her. The…took her and she won’t return my calls. We never went more than a day without talkin’ and now I don’t even know if she’s okay. A bunch of people are spooked. They’re leaving all…hotshot lawyer…everyone’s property. Hardly anyone…to them and that’s not including what’s happening in the mountains. They’ve got the county in a chokehold and the police in their pocket.”

The trio sits quietly while Mark talks. Sara is going to chew a hole through her lip at this rate and the furrow between Hannah’s eyebrows is getting deeper and deeper. Only Alex seems to have a blank expression as he focuses intently on what he’s hearing. He glances up from the phone, one eyebrow quirked as if to ask ‘we in?’ Sara shrugs then nods her head, a determined look on her face and Hannah nods as well. Alright then.

“We just got back from our last case. Give us like a month to get everything ready and we’ll be there.”

“Linny doesn’t have a month.” Mark says, and he sounds distraught, voice cracking at the end.

Alex blinks, surprised by the urgency this case just took and now he’s the one biting at his lower lip. “A week.”

Mark’s quiet for a little bit longer and Alex fills the silence. “We usually spend at least that long researching the area, the people we’re investigating, and all that. But we’re going to have to cut all of that out just to get there in time. Two days of driving with us cramming in as much research as we can on the drive there with only a couple of days to get ready to go. It’s a pretty fast turnover.”

“Yeah of course. I’m sorry. Shit, I just, I haven’t had anyone willing to help and now that you are I…” a heavy sigh and Alex can feel the frustration radiating off of the guy despite being thousands of miles away. “I get it man, I do.” Alex reassures him. “We’ll be in touch, alright? I’ll call you again for more information on where we need to drive to, but for now we’ve gotta get to work here.”

Mark starts to say something but its cut off, and then when the reception improves, he’s halfway through whatever he’d been saying. “…Won’t be easy but I appreciate it.”

Then he hangs up and Alex is left reeling with the sudden change up in their plans.

“We just got back.” Hannah deadpans while Sara’s already texting on her phone, probably the office she works at as a receptionist.

“I know it sucks.” Alex concedes.

“We’re going in blind.” Hannah points out.

“We’ve had less information before.” He argues back.

“At least I’m already packed.” Hannah mumbles before she starts eating her pizza.

“The online orders are all taken care of, but we can’t do any long distance work while we’re there. We have to cram like a month into two days Alex.” Sara says this with a grim look on her face and Alex flinches. “Sorry. I’ll help you out with the shop.” She waves him off, “You need to queue all our videos for the next two weeks _at least_.”

Hannah continues eating while Alex and Sara discuss their schedule, planning out the itinerary and how soon they can get to Hope County. This case is going to have to be one long video. Maybe they can upload some stuff in segments depending on how good the Wi-Fi is at where they stay, but otherwise they’re going to be pretty off the grid for this one.

Alex stands up to get the laptop from the kitchen, bringing it over so they can have an easier time planning. Hannah is still on her back but now she’s got her phone in one hand, googling anything she can about the area probably.

“Okay so this is what I’ve got so far. There are a ton of missing person cases from the area and it seems like a general tourist-y spot, but there wasn’t anything about a religious group or weird takeover that I could find.”

“Huh. Maybe Mark can actually give us a name or something when we talk to him tomorrow.” Sara murmurs, leaning forward to eye the google results for Hope County just like Alex had earlier.

“Alex, let us do the research part. You go work on the videos and getting them set up, _wait a second_ …” Hannah trails off and glances between them, “The Today show interview? Tomorrow morning?” Alex rubs at his eyes, exhausted already while Sara pulls up the e-mail on her phone. “Talking points, here, I’ll print them out and we can prepare that way. We’ll do that tomorrow at 11 am and then everything else is getting ready for Hope County and Mark. Easy.” Alex appreciates the encouragement and gives her a thumbs up while Hannah sighs.

“Who needs sleep?” Hannah asks, the question probably rhetorical but Alex slaps her on the back as he gets up to go into the office, “That’s the spirit!”

The three stay busy until about four in the morning. At that point they agree to a power nap before getting ready for the snippet of live news television. The three gather in the editing room which features a handy backdrop for this exact reason – teleconferences. Hannah ran home to get a button down shirt and a green denim jacket that buttoned closed. Sara had some spare clothes at Alex’s she changed into. A blue floral blouse with a black sweater to go over it.

Despite it being his house, all Alex has is a bunch of flannel. Business casual was not his style. He settles for a subdued red print and takes a seat between them on the futon. The call goes through to the station and they do some sound tests and make sure the image is good enough to go through before going live.

They get a count down and then the news anchor is on their screen, greeting them with a smile and saying it’s nice to meet them. She has a slick bob cut, auburn hair and red lipstick to match. The three reply back, “It’s nice to meet you too.” Alex tacks on a, “Thanks for having us.” And then they slip into the interview routine just like they’d done before on other webcasts and podcasts. The anchor gives a brief backstory on the trio before diving straight into a doozy of a question.

“The three of you are being credited with bringing official news to YouTube, but do any of you have a degree in journalism?”

“Between us we have majors in communications, computer science, graphic design and a bunch of minors to fill in the gaps.” Alex explains, and then Sara picks up where he left off. “Our combined skillset gives us something that entire news stations strive for. A well rounded team.” And then Hannah finishes their statement, “Besides we had a huge advantage with Alex already knowing social media. The three of us care about people’s stories and we think anyone can tell those stories, regardless of a degree. It comes back to empathy.”

The news anchor smiles wider, “That’s great that you’re getting a new generation involved in issues that matter to you and your communities. About the last story, why the secrecy on some information? There was a lot of blurring and post-editing in your videos. Entire names in some instances where aliases were used.”

“It’s a safety measure for the clients and people involved who didn’t consent to their information being released before going to trial.” Sara says point blank and the news anchor nods, her smile slipping some. “Of course. Then what is on the horizon for the Truth Seeking Trio?”

Hannah and Sara glance at Alex who grins, “Who knows? There’s always someone out there who could use a platform like ours. We’re here to help. It’s who we are, as a trio and as individuals.”

The news anchor makes an ‘mhm’ sound and then shuffles the papers on her desk. “Well, there you have it. YouTubers who have made a name for themselves as would-be journalists. Who knows if this could be the future of news as we know it? Thank you.” She addresses them and they say thank you back before the feed is cut from their end and they get confirmation to leave the call.

As soon as he can, Alex unmutes the second monitor that has the newsfeed running and narrows his eyes.

One of the other news anchors the camera pans out to is smiling, but has a glint in his gaze that Alex doesn’t like. “That’s some vigilante journalism.” He chuckles and the woman who’d interviewed them, the other anchor laughs along with him. “It’s amazing what they’ve done, but when I did some research into the story I couldn’t find any other channels quite like theirs.” A thoughtful sound from the man before he speaks again, “It’s not an easy thing to do, but I wish them the best of luck in their pursuit of the truth.”

It toes the line of condescending and Sara rolls her eyes. Hannah leans forward to flip the lens cover over the camera and unplugs the microphone receiver since neither are needed anymore. They release a collective sigh and Sara mumbles, “Maybe middle of nowhere Hope County will be a nice break.”

“Yeah but until then, back to work.” Alex cracks his knuckles and rolls over to the computer. Sara leans back further on the futon with her laptop while Hannah sits beside him at the desk. They had twenty four hours before they left for Montana.

The clock was ticking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter before Hope County! The two chapters were pretty much to set up the trio as a business and get some backstory on them. Next chapter introduces scenic Montana and some new characters. :D I'm not sure why I'm writing this but here it is anyway!


	3. Welcome to Hope County

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio set off for Montana and do some research along the way on the Project at Eden's Gate, specifically the Seed's who are in charge of it. When they arrive in Hope County, it's nothing like they expected.

“This John Duncan guy sounds like a real piece of shit.” Hannah remarks from the back of the SUV. She’s supposed to be sleeping on this stretch of the drive, but instead she’s doing research. The last phone call they had with Mark was about 4 hours ago and in that time she’d found out that the guy his sister had been spending time with, John Seed, was also known as John Duncan.

“Are you just saying that because he’s a lawyer?” Alex asks, both hands on the steering wheel when he glances back in the rear view mirror momentarily to meet her eyes.

“Maybe.”

Alex laughs, but tries to be quiet about it since Sara is asleep in the front passenger seat, passed out with her face pressed against the window. They were on the final stretch of the drive through the night meaning they’d get to Hope County sometime in the late morning if everything went well. He had this stretch of the drive and then Sara would take the early morning shift with Hannah driving the rest of the way into town where they’d meet Mark at a place called the Spread Eagle. Classy sounding place.

“So what’ve you got about him so far?” Alex asks to pass the time since they’d already gone through their collective playlists on the drive and he’d settled for radio-station hopping once they’d reached the Montana state line. It was a lot of country. _A lot_ of country.

Hannah sits up so she isn’t lying across the bench seat. “John Duncan was adopted from what I could find online, so I guess maybe he was John Seed first.” She pauses for a moment before continuing. “A wealthy family, like wealthier than _your_ family from Atlanta. They donated to a bunch of Christian charities from the looks of it and paid for John to go to law school. Top of his class, his parents died, he got rich from the inheritance and then he got even richer by being a successful lawyer. This guy had his own name on a firm as an associate before most people even pass their bar exam.”

“Smart lawyer, noted.” Alex mumbles to himself. “Anything else?”

She hums to fill the silence, tapping on the phone screen to navigate somewhere else. “As far as I can tell he took back his surname of Seed and moved from Georgia to Montana with the rest of Eden’s Gate, following his brother Joseph.”

“Is that where the piece of shit remark comes from? His time in Hope County or when he was John Duncan in Atlanta?” Alex asks and Hannah scoffs.

“I mean, the picture of the guy is enough to have me making this judgment call but yeah, the former. He literally owns most of Hope County at this point. Thousands of acres and parcels of land. Even some of the businesses are now Project-controlled through his purchases.”

Alex’s brows furrow at that, fingers tapping along the steering wheel as he changes lanes to go around a semi-truck. “Wasn’t there a religious movement back in the 70s that did something like this? They basically bought an entire town and ran it with their own businesses and everything?”

Hannah hums again. “Not sure. Maybe? I can look it up.”

“Nah don’t waste time on it. Just a déjà vu feeling. What you got about the Project then?” Alex changes topics, not sure what to make of John Seed, the personal lawyer of the group and brother to the figurehead Joseph Seed.

She leans closer to him so she can be heard easier without raising her voice and disturbing Sara. “The Project at Eden’s Gate only has this one website. It looks like something from the early two thousands on desktop and on my phone its eye-strain central. It’s vague without much information. I did send an e-mail from one of my burner accounts to the one they have listed asking for more information but haven’t heard back yet. I’m not sure how often they check their inbox. It’s only got some quotes from Joseph Seed, and an invitation to ‘come see’.”

“The heck?” Alex glances over his shoulder at Hannah who nods her head, “Yeah, weird I know.”

“Come see _what_?” He asks, knowing Hannah doesn’t hold the answer.

“Well I guess we’re going to find out for ourselves.” Hannah states before leaning back again. “I’ll keep digging. The best lead I’ve found was that they got forced out of Georgia. Another missing person’s case.” 

“Cool or you could get some sleep.” Alex points out, but Hannah dismisses him with a wave of her hand just barely visible in the rear view mirror.

They settle into a comfortable silence with Alex driving for another two hours before he pulls over to get some fuel. The harsh lights of the gas station wake Sara up who drags herself out of the car to do some stretches. Hannah goes inside to get cheap coffee while Alex does some push-ups off of the car’s bumper and jump squats. It helps loosen up his muscles. Once they’re fueled up Sara takes over driving with Hannah in the passenger seat and Alex in the back.

It’s his turn to get some sleep, or he could do some research like Hannah had, but he’s not sure his brain can handle it. They’d driven twenty four hours straight before stopping to get a few hours of sleep at a truck stop in the car. After that quick nap it was back on the road so they could drive straight through to reach Mark as soon as possible. Most of the driving was split between Hannah and Alex since Sara was busy finishing up work on orders and getting the blog posts queued while they had Wi-Fi.

He unlocks his phone, thumb drawing out the pattern. His wallpaper is a picture of the three of them posing in front of a fountain. Alex smiles at it then opens a browser window to see where he’d left off. His own research had revolved around Jacob Seed. Each of them took one brother of the family to try and get information on. Sara had Joseph, Hannah had John and Alex had Jacob. There was one whole article he found about the guy highlighting him as a war hero – an oxymoron in his opinion. Apparently he served in the 82nd Airborne when he was given the honors, but that was it.

The more he looks into Jacob, the more he wishes Hannah had taken him. She knows more about the military than he ever will. Alex eyes the slim online pickings. Just the one article really.

Military records are private and only next of kin can call and get the information. Alex is not about to try and sneak his way into getting information about Jacob Seed. Not just because it’s the military but because his little brother is a lawyer, and a good one at that apparently. Details about his time spent serving in the military aren’t worth rousing suspicion before they reach Hope County.

Which means he has next to nothing to go on. He did get a date of birth and place of birth from an online database at least but they already knew the group and the brothers specifically were from Georgia.

Alex gives up after ten more minutes of fruitless results. He leans over to get a blanket and tucks it around his legs, leaning sideways on the seat so he can recline somewhat. It doesn’t take long for him to fall asleep with the gentle rumbling of the car engine and the hushed conversation from Hannah and Sara.

* * *

He’s in a river. Not just standing in the middle of one, but held underneath the water by multiple hands. At least six grip him, keeping Alex submerged. For some reason he isn’t panicking, not yet, but after a little while he starts to worry. His lungs are burning and if they don’t let him up for air then he’s going to drown. He kicks out, thrashing and clawing at the fingers that curl into his shirt tighter due to his struggling.

Just as he opens his mouth to suck in a breath, the hands are gone and he breaks the surface only to find he’s standing on the shore. From where he is, he can see three silhouettes holding a shadow beneath the surface of the river. The current is slow, and calm, but the person being held down is fighting them and sending water splashing with every kick and flail.

A hand slips into his left, fingers squeezing his but he doesn’t turn to look and see who it is.

Water drips from his eyebrows, from his nose, and he blinks the droplets away as best as he can. It’s nighttime with the stars and moon acting as the only source of eerie light so he should be cold from being soaked but he isn’t. He’s just numb.

He tries to say something, but his throat feels tight and no words come out.

A second attempt at speaking is as pointless as the first.

Eventually the struggling stops and the shape of the person in the water drifts apart until he can’t tell that there was even a person there in the first place. Only the silhouettes and the person holding onto his hand remain.

Alex manages to turn his head, a fraction of an inch, but it’s enough to catch a glimpse of the faceless woman standing beside him. She has long dark hair and for a horrifying second he fears that it’s Hannah, but she’s wearing a white dress and he gets a gut feeling that it isn’t his friend.

“Fuck this.” He finally speaks and when he does the dream fades away, replaced by the interior of the SUV and the first rays of daylight. They’re parked at another gas station with Hannah standing beside the gas pump and Sara probably inside getting some more coffee for the three of them.

With a low groan he kicks the blanket off, unbuckles his seatbelt and rolls out of the backseat.

“I need to do a run.” His voice sounds like he’s gargled rocks for fun, and Hannah nods as she watches the gas meter. “This place has a Subway so I figure we can get gas, grab breakfast, do some runs and then finish out the drive into Hope County. Sara said the hotel we’ve booked knows we’re coming early, but that we can check in any time we like.”

“Any time?” Alex asks skeptically. Most places didn’t allow check in until three or four pm but they were making great time so they’d be there by ten am probably. He hums the tune to Hotel California which gets a snort from Hannah, “Go do your run, then I’ll meet you and Sara inside at the Subway.” He gives her a mock salute which gets an actual laugh this time before he takes off at a slow pace circling the parking lot.

The place is pretty empty but the sun is barely cresting the horizon so the lack of people isn’t that weird. They’ve stopped at a gas station that seems quaint in the way a small town in Montana would expectedly be. A few truckers are fueling up at the diesel pumps and a couple of cars are parked in front of the gas station. They’ve all got Montana plates, even the truckers.

Alex does another loop before going inside. He spots Sara at a small booth with three sandwiches laid out on the table. There’s also three cups of coffee to go with them. He slides into the seat across from her.

“Come here often?” He asks, pairing it with a waggle of his eyebrows which has her covering her mouth to try and muffle her laugh in the otherwise quiet eat-in area of the gas station slash Subway.

She shoves one of the wrapped sandwiches towards him and then scoots over as Hannah walks in through the front doors to join them. Another sandwich is handed off to Hannah and then the three of them start eating. Carrots, potato chips, pretzel sticks, fruit and other snack foods were their go-to for road trips, but every now and then they’d stop to get _actual_ food. Usually near the end of their driving.They ate in silence, enjoying the first few bites of their food before Alex decided to give them the lowdown on his end of the research.

“Jacob Seed might as well not exist. I can’t find anything on the guy other than he served in the Army’s 82nd Airborne over in the middle east. He was recognized for outstanding service but the article was vague and entirely unhelpful.”

Hannah chews on a bite of food, swallowing it before she throws in her two cents. “You’re not gonna find much then. We don’t have the time to go digging into military resources or Georgia’s public databases since we’re already mobile.”

Alex sighs but nods his head in agreement.

“At least Hannah found a lot about John Seed, er Duncan?” Sara points out, gesturing with her sandwich towards Hannah. “We know he comes from a religious family, his adoptive parents are dead, his blood brothers are with him, and he is a big time lawyer who still has a firm in Georgia but now practices in Montana. Also he’s rich, like super rich, like-“ before she can finish that, Alex interjects, “Richer than my family rich, yeah Hannah mentioned.”

Sara smiles at him, “You could combine forces, get super rich with him.”

“It’s my _parents_ that are the rich ones.” Alex points his sandwich at her. “They respect my wishes to live as a YouTuber, struggling to break even.” All three laugh at that, but quickly quiet down when the sole worker behind the counter shoots them a tired glare.

“Sorry.” Alex says to which the employee rolls his eyes and goes back to organizing the trays of food.

“Anyway what do we have on Joseph?” Alex asks Sara, just as she takes a big bite of her sandwich. She glares at him, chewing as fast as she can so she can answer. 

“He doesn’t have much of a record either from what I could tell. There were a few articles about the Project at Eden’s Gate when it was in Georgia. Nothing particularly interesting other than the disappearance of a man named Phillip Alans.”

“That poor man, both a screwdriver and a wrench for a name.” Alex murmurs softly, hissing in pain when Sara and Hannah kick his shins from under the table at the same time.

“Bad joke.” Hannah deadpans as Sara boo’s him.

“Alright, alright, so other than that he up and moved to Montana with his group and nothing since?” Sara shakes her head no. “There is the book he published; the _Book of Joseph_ that I guess is their religious text? Or something? We never got an e-mail back from the website Hannah found.”

Alex sighs, mentally running through the list of what they’ve got on the brothers and the Project specifically.

It’s not a lot.

“Hopefully Mark can clear some stuff up for us.” Alex tries to be optimistic. “Oh shit, speaking of, better text him that we’re a few hours out.” He bites into his sandwich and holds it in place with his teeth while he uses his hands to slide his phone out of his back pocket. He unlocks it and types out a message to Mark.

_Hey we’re a few hours away from Hope County but going to check into our hotel first. Will call when we get there._

Perfect. He sends it then sets his phone aside so he can hold onto his sandwich with a hand again.

“I slept so I can take the final stretch if you both wanna get some snoozin’ or researchin’ in.” He makes the offer out of both kindness and some guilt since he had passed out _hard_ for a few hours. Sara and Hannah exchange a look and it is one of _worry_.

“What?” He asks when neither answer him nor clarify the shared glance.

“You were talking in your sleep.” Sara’s voice is quiet when she says it, which is unnecessary since there’s basically no one else in the Subway but he appreciates it nonetheless. “Oh.” Alex can’t think of anything to say to that because it’d been months since he talked in his sleep, and years since he slept-walked.

“Bad dreams?” Hannah asks, and they both look concerned for him, but he isn’t about to spook his friends on what should be their last job together so he shrugs his shoulders. “Nothing I can remember.” Alex hates lying to them, and for a moment he’s not sure they believe him. His phone buzzes which gives him an out of the conversation.

“Mark says okay to us calling when we get to the hotel.” Alex chuckles. “I don’t think he’s sent a single emoji in any of his texts to us.”

“I wonder if he has a flip phone.” Sara muses aloud, and Hannah elbows her, “Be nice.” Which has Sara saying, “I am! I’m just wondering!” Alex watches the two tease one another while he finishes eating, smiling as it devolves into the two of them talking about how cool flip phones were when they first came out.

Once they’ve all finished their sandwiches they get a refill on coffee then return to the SUV now parked in a corner of the lot away from the truckers. Alex ends up driving the rest of the way so Hannah and Sara can exchange notes in the backseat. The remainder of the drive goes smoothly, with less than six hours left they only stop to fill up on fuel and take bathroom breaks as need be. They come into Hope County through a tunnel that has more traffic from the opposite direction – going _out_ of the tricounty area.

“Huh.” Alex watches the vehicles pass on the other side of the double yellow. One was a truck packed with luggage in the back and even a rocking chair.

“That’s not creepy at all.” Hannah mumbles from the back.

Sara sighs heavily, “C’mon, just because someone’s moving you both are already losing your unbiased opinion about this?”

“Hey I never claimed to be unbiased.” Alex lifts his pointer finger off the steering wheel to emphasize his point and Sara groans. Alex ignores her, which is easier to do when his phone beeps indicating it’s lost internet signal. “Okay so GPS is gone, navigator please.” Hannah crawls into the passenger seat from the back with a map and the printed directions in hand. She guides him through what is apparently Holland Valley. It’s a scenic drive with them staying on the main road all the way until they cross a bridge over into Henbane County.

They take a left at an intersection just past a place called ‘McCallough's Garage’ and follow that road all the way up to the King’s Hot Springs Hotel. It’s a stone-faced building that has what looks like a turret tower for some reason and a couple of balconies for second floor rooms. Alex pulls into one of the many vacant parking spots and hops out of the car. The smell of sulfur hits him first. The hot springs for which it was named must be behind the building.

Sara and Hannah climb out with Sara scrunching her nose at the smell and Hannah stretching out her back just like Alex had.

“I’m going to go check us in.” Sara says, looking around at the empty lot with a confused look, but she doesn’t say anything about it. Alex watches her skip up the front steps while he goes to help Hannah unload their equipment.

“She’s not saying it, but I am. Where is everyone?” He grabs the rolling luggage that held most of their gear while Hannah took their personal suitcases out and set them down on the dirt.

“It’s June, we’re fast approaching July 4th and there’s,” she pauses to look at the only other vehicle in the parking lot with them, “one Subaru from Washington?” Hannah exhales through her nose. “This is weird Alex.”

“Yeah. I mean, maybe not that many people come to a hot springs hotel during the summer, but traffic seemed nonexistent driving in. We passed four vehicles leaving and then one on the entire drive though the county?” They’ve got almost everything except for the cooler of food out, so Alex shuts the back hatch. They’ll make a second trip out for what remains later.

He and Hannah lug everything up the steps, talking under their breath _just in case_ anyone’s listening the way Mark said they would be.

“I don’t like it.” Hannah casts a suspicious look around.

“Me neither. Did you see that sign they were putting up along the side of the road too?” Alex had only seen part of it, text below that weird cross saying ‘WE LOVE YOU and WE WILL TAKE YOU’. Hannah nods, mumbling. “Yeah I saw it.”

“Weird doesn’t really begin to cover that.” Alex manages to use his foot to snag the handle and get the door open but Sara rushes over to hold it for them when she notices. They make their way into the air conditioned space and both breathe a sigh of relief at the cool air.

“Oh hi there welcome to the Hotel!” A chipper voice with a southern accent says from behind the counter. Alex looks up, smile automatically in place as he greets the front desk attendant. She looks like she’s maybe in her early to mid-thirties with straight strawberry blonde hair and a wide smile that shows off a gap in her teeth. She seems nice enough. “I’m Anna and if you need anything I’ll be here until night shift which is when Morgan takes over. I already gave Ms. Sara your keys to your room on the second floor.”

Sara is smiling but Alex can tell it’s one of her forced semi-painful smiles because she’s trying not to let her irritation show. “Right, Anna here upgraded our room for us I guess.” Sara explains, not quite through grit teeth but close to it.

“Uh?” Alex glances between Sara and Anna with an alarmed look on his face, “We can’t really afford that.”

“Oh no! It’s free of charge. We ain’t got anyone else except that ghost hunting guy staying and no reservations so we went ahead and gave y’all a room with two queens instead of the one. No need for anyone to sleep on the floor when we got plenty of beds to spare!” Oh she’s _very_ chipper. Alex’s panic lessens a few degrees but he’s still nervous about getting charged for something they can’t afford.

“You’re sure? We really are fine with the one queen and-“

“No no I already talked to the manager and he’ll hear nothin’ about it. We don’t often get visitors all the way from Philadelphia.” She paused, one finger pressed to her lips for a second. “Ever actually, now that I think about it and I been working here for nearly a decade now so that’s sayin’ somethin’ but oh you go on up to your room now. We don’t have an elevator but the stairs are just ‘round the corner here and y’all got a balcony room to boot!”

Alex is pretty sure his own smile is starting to wear thin, but he nods his thanks and gathers up their luggage again to make the trek up to their room. Sara takes a few bags from Hannah which allows her to grab the duffel bag that had been slipping off of Alex’s shoulder.

Once they get to their room Sara unlocks the door with an _actual key_ and they step into a room that they most definitely should not be able to afford.

Alex sets the cases down just inside the door, whistling at the spacious room that greets him.

It’s big enough for two queen sized beds to be snug against one wall, situated across from double doors that swing out onto the balcony Anna had mentioned them having. There’s two dressers for them to put their clothes in, a safe for any valuables and a desk area they can set up the computer at. There’s even a small sitting area with a table in the corner with natural light slanting in through the windows at just the right angle to highlight it.

Sara’s already opening the doors and his mouth drops open at the view. Their room overlooks the hot springs, framed by large pine trees dotted across the rolling hills. He’s pretty sure he just saw a flippin’ _eagle_ fly past in the not-so-distance.

“As far as places to die go, we could do worse.” Alex steps out beside Sara on the balcony, leaning against the railing. The three of them stand there in comfortable silence. The minutes pass before Alex pushes off of the railing, eyes wide, “Wait…Did she say _ghost hunter_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter here! Next next chapter features the garbage fire that is John Seed. :'D


	4. Meeting Mark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally they get to meet Mark face to face and get a first-hand look at how tense the standoff is between the Project and the locals.

Yep, sure enough she had in fact said ghost hunter.

Alex meets ‘Sparky’ when he leaves the room to wander around the hotel and get a feel for the layout. He goes down the stairs and turns at the landing, headed for the back doors rather than the front they came in through. The place is empty save for Anna humming to herself at the front desk.

He opens one of the double doors and steps out onto a wooden walkway that curves in a couple of different directions. To his left is a pathway to a big open deck that has picnic tables and umbrellas for outdoor seating. There’s even a grill area. It wraps around towards the side parking lot. Straight ahead is a path that leads to the green tinged water of the hot springs so he goes that way.

It’s quiet. Eerily so.

Growing up in New York City and then moving to Philadelphia had left little room for enjoying the great outdoors like this. His parents tried to make time for summer adventures into the Midwest so he had some exposure to rural areas and nature, but it wasn’t anything like _this_.

Trees as far as the eye could see with only the gentle bubbling of the springs to break the silence. A breeze picks up, shaking the leaves and causing a rustle that was downright melodic. Without thinking about it, he starts smiling. If he wasn’t so attached to the internet and made a living from technology he could see himself really enjoying a place like Hope County.

“Oh hey!”

Alex jumps in surprise, head tilting towards the springs to see who it was that had said that.

A tall, lanky guy with bright curly red hair and skin that definitely burns is loping his way. It takes him and his long legs a disgustingly short amount of time to reach Alex and for the first time in a while he laments his own height, er, lack thereof.

“Hey. You must be the ghost hunter.” Alex surmises, based on the camera hanging around his neck, a small device that could be one of those EMF readers in one hand and an audio recorder in the other.

“Oh my reputation precedes me eh?” He has a slight northern accent, with the round o’s and all.

Alex’s lips quirk at one corner. “Anna at the front desk mentioned you were the only other guest. I’m Alex, nice to meet you.” His eyes drop to the tech he’s holding onto. “I’d offer to shake your hand but it looks like yours are full.”

“Activity during the day is weak but I like having a baseline to work off of. I’m Sparky. You a ghost hunter too?”

There’s no way in hell his real name is Sparky, no parent could be that cruel, but Alex keeps that assumption to himself. “Nope, a vlogger. Me and the rest of the crew are here checking out the town as a tourist stop but there’s some kind of religious group apparently. You heard of them?”

“Ppft! Who hasn’t? That wacky cult owns like half the businesses around here, maybe more since I arrived and I’ve only been here like two days!” Sparky exclaims, arms pin wheeling to emphasize his point. Alex nods his head, mentally filing away the information.

“Place is eerie dude, and I don’t mean the ghosts. Well those too, this place is _packed_ with paranormal essence! Oh hey. You’re a vlogger you said?” Sparky asks, talking very fast all of a sudden and Alex gives a slow nod of his head, already having an idea of where this may be going.

“Nice! If you got some time I’d _love_ to get a recording of what’s going on here. There’s straight up manifestations and it has _got_ to be recorded and shared with my fellow hunters.”

“We’re probably going to be busy interviewing people and working with our contact, but if I have some time between editing footage I’ll see what we can do. Do you not have a camcorder?” Alex is genuinely perplexed as to why a ghost hunter wouldn’t one.

Sparky rolls his eyes and sighs. “That cult saw me recording their statue thing and got real weird. Took my camcorder and said I’d get it back after they deleted everything. Funny little dudes and dudettes.” He seemed remarkably chill about having his equipment stolen by the Project.

“Their statue thing?” Alex prompts, but before he gets an answer something beeps and Sparky jerks upright, posture going from slack and relaxed to rigid in a heartbeat. “Oh! Got a spike, I gotta go but real nice meeting you Alex!” He takes off, eyes glued to what is definitely an EMF reader.

“Okay then.” Alex says to himself with a shake of his head. He’d met odder people and Sparky seemed a little quirky but interested in his craft. While Alex may have lost his faith and belief in anything supernatural a long time ago, he didn’t begrudge anyone who _did_ believe. He watches Sparky disappear around the corner of the building then turns his attention back to the beautiful scenery that surrounds the hotel. There’s only one road coming in which is the one they drove up. He walks further along the planks and spots a rope bridge across a chasm. He keeps walking until he comes across an information plaque, engraved with a story.

_On May 12 1902, a 7.6 earthquake struck the mountain south of the hotel. It created a 10 million ton landslide that sliced a deep crevice in the earth and destroyed half the King’s Hotel. 16 people were killed in the landslide, their bodies never recovered. To this day, their ghosts are said to haunt the site of the rebuilt hotel. BUILT 1866._

That would explain the ghost hunter’s interest.

He takes out his phone to see if he gets enough reception to call Mark, but there are barely two bars. They have a Wi-Fi hotspot and extender in their SUV that he may have to use if it’s not any better inside the hotel. Alex spins on one foot and heads back in, eyes on his phone’s screen the whole time. Nope, nope, nuh uh, zero change, this isn’t great.

Alex waves at Anna as he passes the front desk but doesn’t stop to start another potentially never-ending conversation. Instead he takes the stairs two at a time and once he reaches the second floor his phone manages three bars of reception and he breathes out a sigh of relief.

He thumbs over to Mark’s contact information then hits the green phone icon.

While waiting for Mark to answer, he starts pacing the hallway, passing by empty rooms and windows with breathtaking views.

“Alex?” His voice doesn’t sound any clearer now that they’re in the same state.

“Hey, we’re at the King’s Hot Springs Hotel. Just getting cleaned up and unpacking before we drive into town. You still up for meeting where we planned?”

“No. Change of plans.” Mark’s voice is hushed but sounds louder, like he’s covering his mouth close to the speaker to amplify it. “Meet me at Lorna’s Truck Stop. You probably passed it coming in. Giant cow, sound familiar?”

“Oh yeah, we passed it.” Alex had wanted to stop and get a picture. Maybe they can now. No, no. Priorities. “Meet there in one hour?”

“See you soon.” Mark ended the call just as Sara opened the door to their room, hair wet from her shower.

“Hannah’s in the shower but you can have next dibs. Was that Mark?” She steps aside and lets him into the room, shutting the door behind him once he’s inside. “Yep we’re gonna meet at that giant cow instead of the bar.”

“Your dream of petting a cow is about to come true.” Sara muses, a playful glint in her eye.

“It doesn’t get checked off the bucket list unless it’s a real cow.” Alex counters before going over to set up the desk with the computer they packed. He kneels down and spots a power outlet but no Ethernet to plug into. He kind of figured as much but that confirmed that there would be no video uploading save through their mobile phones, if that. So they’d have to save everything for a grand finale video.

Alex doesn’t power on the computer yet but does grab a handheld camcorder and the iPhone he keeps for recording B-roll footage.

So far they had video footage from Philadelphia where they talked about the letter from Mark and Mark himself, but they’d agreed not to post it until _after_ the case was closed. That meant talking about everything in past tense in their videos to the audience despite it not being released yet. Tricky, but not impossible, nor the first time they’d done it.

“You ready?” Alex leans back in the chair to meet Sara’s eyes. She’s busy braiding her hair into two French braids on either side of her head, blonde hair contained for the time being.

“I think so. You?” She had hesitated before answering. It worries him that she may not be all ‘here’ for this, but it could just be the general fatigue from driving for almost two days straight.

“Yeah. I’m excited to meet Mark in person. Plus, now that we’re here we can start getting some actual information.” The internet had failed them when it came to researching Hope County other than the uptick in missing people recently. There’d been no news articles covering the missing people or the Project that had taken over the tri-county area. It was suspiciously silent. Like Mark had said, no one seemed to care.

The door to the bathroom clicks open. Hannah stands there drying her hair with a towel.

“What’d I miss?” She walks over to the bed Sara’s on and sits down beside her, continuing to dry her hair out as best she can without a hairdryer.

Alex stands up and grabs a change of clothes before heading for the bathroom. “Sara can catch you up.” He stops at the doorway, spinning around with a snap of his fingers. “Oh! I met the ghost hunter. His name’s Sparky and he’s already had a run in with the Project.” Sara’s eyes widen, hands stilling on her braid momentarily. “They stole his camcorder so we’re going to have to be careful about this.”

Then he closes the door and washes the grime of thirty some hours spent in a car off. There’s a provided bar of soap and some other complimentary toiletries which is nice of the hotel to do. They packed their own stuff to be safe. He feels like an entirely new person when he steps out of the bathroom in clean clothes.

Sara and Hannah are still on the bed, a laptop open between them as they go over their notes on the case so far. They’ve got thirty minutes left until they’re supposed to meet Mark and it shouldn’t take more than five to ten minutes to get back to that truck stop. He pulls out the map they’d bought ahead of time and turns to the Hope County area. It looks like the river snakes through almost the entire area with only some spots in the mountains between Holland Valley and the Whitetails clear. That means _a lot_ of bridges to cross and probably a lot of boats to get around. He examines the map while Sara and Hannah talk to one another, comparing their information.

“After we talk with Mark we should hit the town and maybe try to get some information from the local PD.” Hannah suggests.

Alex looks over his shoulder, lips pulled to one side in a skeptical grimace. “I doubt they’re going to want to talk to us, but yeah might as well give it a try. Mark said they got to the cops too so we gotta be careful in case that turns out to be true.”

“Why not just go to the Project?” Sara glances between them. “I have a hard time believing they bought out this entire section of Montana and I think we owe it to them to hear their side too. Some of their people have gone missing too.”

His frown deepens but he knows that they need to consider _all_ angles, even if his gut is telling him that Mark was _right_.

“Sure. I don’t like the divide and conquer route but this place is huge. I think I’ve got a plan for that though. If Mark is up for it, we can go in teams of two and cover more ground. He should probably stay in the car, but he can at least keep an eye on whoever’s with him as backup.”

Understanding alights on Hannah’s face and she slowly nods her head. “We can split up without someone being alone. Cover more ground, get more testimonies.”

Sara shrugs her shoulders. “Sure if we think he can do it and if we can trust him.”

Hannah runs a hand through her damp hair, sighing with the motion. “We should get there early and check the place out. Maybe grab some snacks since we ate most of ours.” Sara leans forward to start tying her converse so they can go.

“Make sure everything is turned off or locked in the luggage.” Alex says from where he’s kneeling on the floor to lace up his boots. “You think _Anna_ is going to go through our stuff?” Sara asks, incredulous of the chatty but polite woman from the front desk being nosy.

“I don’t know who _owns_ this place.” Alex counters with a pointed look. “We gotta be on our toes here. I’d rather be safe than sorry.” Which Sara agrees with him about but she still seems wary of having to take such extreme measures in the middle of nowhere Montana.

Once the three of them are ready to go they file out of the room and down the steps. Anna is talking to someone but Alex doesn’t hear anyone other than her so it must be a phone call.

“Uh huh. Yeah of course. I’d never undermine him while workin’ here. That’s why I’m lettin’ him know first before I tell Faith.” She spots Alex, her eyes flitting from him to Sara then Hannah. “If you could pass it along I’d appreciate it but I got guests so I’ll call ya back.” She hangs up and folds her arms on the counter, leaning forward and angling herself towards them as they walk her way.

“Y’all headed out already?” It’s an innocent enough question but Alex is on edge. Hope County is beautiful and all but there’s an underlying danger that haunts him. Anna gets grouped into that sense of danger which is why when they walk past he smiles warmly at her. “We want to drive around and check everything out. Maybe find some good spots to get pictures. Any recommendations for where we can get food?” Keep your friends close and the suspiciously nice locals closer…

Her eyes light up, “Oh for sure! The Spread Eagle is legendary, but if you’re feelin’ dangerous then there’s ol’ Chad Wolanski’s food truck up in the Whitetails just past the Lumber Mill.”

Hannah walks out ahead of him with Sara not far behind. They leave Alex to handle Anna and her potentially talkative nature. “Thanks I’ll make a note of that on our map. I don’t think we’ll be out late but is there a curfew or something like a time you lock the hotel up?”

“Oh no sweetheart we keep the doors open in case anyone needs a room. It’s the neighborly thing to do.” Anna lifts one hand and waves it in a vague motion like it’s ‘no big deal’.

Alex’s smile stretches a little wider, “Cool, thanks for the info. Well we’re gonna go grab something to eat.”

“Hope to see y’all before I clock out for the night!” Anna calls after him, leaning even further over the counter to watch him go out the front door. It’s a little creepy and Alex would typically chalk it up to someone in a rural community simply being excited to have guests in an unusually dead summer season, but…He can’t shake the uneasy feeling.

Hannah is already behind the wheel with Sara leaving the front passenger seat for Alex. He climbs in and pulls out the map to act as navigator for Hannah on their way back to the gas stop. She ends up remembering the drive through Hope County better than he did. Since he’s not driving it gives him time to take in the sights they drive past. It’s all beautiful. There are glimpses of the sun shining off the river that sparkle each time they round a corner. His thoughts go distant, nowhere specific as he loses himself in the blur of green and splashes of blue.

“What the hell?”

He snaps out of it. Hannah’s question has him sitting up straighter in his seat and turning to look. They’ve pulled into a parking spot on the side of the log cabin across from the giant cow because the gas stop is packed.

There’s four white pickup trucks with the Project’s cross painted on the side taking up the gas pumps. A few people are seated in the back of each wearing a white, scratchy looking sweater that has the cross in red there too. Alex frowns at the scene and unbuckles his seatbelt at the same time lifting the camcorder so he can subtly film what’s happening as best he can. The pocket-cam was left at the hotel so they have to be careful. Sparky’s story is still fresh in his mind.

A woman chases two people wearing what look like fishing vests out of the store. She’s got a baseball cap with a cow embroidered on it and a white shirt tied off at her mid-driff that reads TROUBLE MAKER in bold black font on. Definitely not with the Project.

“This oughta be interesting.” Alex murmurs as he rolls down his window to hopefully hear what’s happening clearer. The woman was yelling and jamming a finger into the chest of one of the men who has his own hands lifted in a placating gesture.

“You get the _fuck_ off of my property! You’re not getting any fuel here. Fuck. Off!” She enunciates each word crisp and clear. Alex has the camcorder at an odd angle so it isn’t seen with his arm covering it as though he’s leaning on the open window of the doorframe. “Tell John he’ll have this place over my cold, dead body!” She shoves one of the men’s shoulders and he stumbles a few steps. Sara sucks in a breath from the back seat.

The men and women in the back of the pickup trucks hop out, and it’s only then that Alex notices a few of them are armed. It’s not too surprising – this is backcountry Montana where an open carry is more common than not, but it makes him anxious nonetheless.

“No, it’s alright.” The man she’d shoved says, waving the other people down. “I’ll pass along your message to the Baptist.”

The people start to mumble amongst themselves, but Alex can easily pick out a few choice words like ‘Sinner’ and ‘filth’. To which the woman spits at their feet as they all get into the vehicles and drive off. He flicks the switch off on the camcorder and leans back in his seat. All three let out a collective sigh at the tense standoff they just witnessed.

“She seemed unnecessarily antagonistic.” Sara says as she unbuckles her seatbelt and gets out, closing the door and then leaning against it.

“That was two truck’s worth of people with _branding_. How many of them total are there?” Is what Alex wants to know, which gives Sara a moment’s pause of consideration and she seems nervous about that now as well. Hannah walks around the front of the car with her arms folded and a stern expression on her features. None of them know what to say and settle for standing there in silence while they think.

It doesn’t last long, not when something occurs to Alex. “She said John and that guy said the Baptist.Did they mean John Seed? John Duncan? How many names does the guy go by?” They walk around the corner of the building and pass an ice machine on their way. There’s a green mechanics shop on the other side of the gas pumps that has loud country music playing. Hannah heads in that direction, likely to start up a conversation with whoever the mechanic is and possibly ask about having their tires checked. She’s smart about forming a relationship with the locals fast and keeping the car in top condition given how far they drove in it.

That leaves Sara and Alex for going inside to look around.

The woman who had been shouting at the Project’s people is now behind the counter, arms crossed and shoulders tense. Her head snaps in their direction when the bell rings and she doesn’t relax one bit.

“You with the Project?” Zero introduction, straight to business.

It must grate on Sara some because she bristles, “No. Do you make a habit of interrogating anyone who comes through?”

The woman falters then sighs. “I’m sorry. You’re right that was rude of me. I’m Delilah, but my friends call me Lila and if you aren’t with the Project then you’re a friend. Welcome to Lorna’s Truck Stop.”

Alex walks towards her with Sara close beside him. Lila’s the kind of beautiful that turns heads. She’s tan with freckles that bring out the bright green of her eyes and _those_ are emphasized by the black hair that brushes her shoulders.

“I’m Alex and this is Sara.” Sara lifts a hand in a half-hearted wave. “We’re from out of town, but staying for a little while.”

Lila whistles as she folds her arms and cocks a hip. “That’s terrible timing. The cult’s got everyone worked up. Half the county has already packed up and moved. Well, the ones that haven’t sold their property to that asshole.” She bites the word ‘asshole’ out like she was taking a chunk out of something, or maybe someone.

“What asshole?” Sara latches onto that bit of conversation, trying to get more out of their newfound source of information.

“John Seed. A shithead lawyer who-” She stops herself and sighs, “You kids don’t want to hear about this. You’re just visiting, right? If you were smart you’d do what you’re here to do and skedaddle. A lot of people get mixed up with the cult and never get the chance to leave.”

Alex sees an opportunity and takes it, “Or they go missing?” He’s close to the counter now and can see the surprise on Lila’s face before she tempers it and gives him a stony look.

“What did you say you were visiting here for?” She asks, voice steely.

“We’re investigating the group you call a cult.” Alex explains softly, and Sara, just as soft adds, “The missing people specifically.” They can be honest with her, to a degree. She clearly doesn’t like the Project and maybe she’ll be sympathetic to their cause.

Lila looks between them, her brows furrowed and lips pursed. For what feels like a lifetime but probably wasn’t more than ten seconds, she doesn’t say anything. “You kids need to go home. This isn’t some TV show. These are people’s lives.” She gestures to the gas station around them with both arms, “This is people’s livelihood. What are you some kind of reporter vultures? From the big city? Come to-“

“Lila!”

A voice cuts through her rant, stopping her short. Alex turns to face the door and sees a somewhat familiar face. He’s got a few more wrinkles than he did in the picture he’d sent to them, but Mark looks the same otherwise.

“Do you know these people Mark?” Lila’s voice is tempered now, but there’s still a coldness to it. Alex grins at Mark and walks over, offering a hand for him to shake which he returns, grip strong. “Good to finally meet you man.” Mark nods at him then turns his attention back to Lila who watches the exchange with a suspicious squint.

“They’re here to _help_ Lila.”

“Linny?” She asks to which Mark answers with another nod.

“Well I feel like an asshole.” Lila covers her face before laying it down on the counter, arms over her head. “Sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” Sara says, laughing behind her hand before walking over to pat her on one bare shoulder. “It’s alright, really. We’ve had worse welcomes.”

Mark looks around, somewhat confused. “There’s three of you. Where’s Hannah?”

“Making friends with the mechanic and probably seeing if they can check out our car sometime.” Alex explains while Sara gets to talking with Lila. He focuses on Mark. The guy has bags beneath his eyes, tense shoulders and the kind of nervous energy that he’s seen from people they helped before. Something is definitely up.

“Lila, mind if we use the backroom to talk?” Mark asks, and she nods. “It’s all yours. I’ll go grab your friend. George won’t let her go if they started talking engines and he _always_ starts talking about engines.” Lila walks around the counter, spinning to push the front door with her back open when she says, “Grab yourself a snack and something to drink on me.”

Alex shakes his head, “That’s really not necessary.”

“If you don’t do it I’ll feel bad all night.” Lila turns around, the door swinging shut behind her. Alex and Sara both look at Mark who shrugs at them as though to say ‘what can ya do?’ Sara walks over to shake his hand and introduce herself now that Lila was out of the building.

After some scouring Alex settles on a bag of sour watermelon chews for himself, a nutella snack pack for Sara and a bag of chex mix for Hannah. Four bottles of water are snagged so they have something to drink while they talk. Mark leads them to the back of the store. On the left is a door that says EMPLOYEES ONLY that he takes them through. There’s a sink, some shelves with food on it, a couple of crates that hadn’t been opened and a blue door with a fire exit sign beside it. Tucked away in the opposite corner is an old floral print couch, a matching recliner and a coffee table.

Mark sits down on the recliner leaving the couch for Sara and Alex.

Right away Mark starts bouncing his leg, fingers curling and uncurling into fists as they wait for Hannah.

“You’re taller than I thought.” Alex says to break the silence and Mark jerks, startled by the small talk. The unexpected conversation is probably why he says, “You’re shorter than I thought.” He looks horrified the second it leaves his mouth, meanwhile Sara and Alex double over in laughter.

“Which one?” Sara asks through the remaining giggles, because both she and Alex are on the shorter side of things with her being the smallest of the three. Mark’s face is beet red as he stammers over his words, trying to rectify the situation, but he’s saved from further embarrassment when Alex says, “I try not to stand next to Hannah as much as possible in the videos. It’s all about camera angles, but yeah I get that a lot.”

Mark doesn’t seem very relieved by Alex’s own admission to being short, face still red. The front door jingles and Lila’s voice can be heard directing Hannah on where to go. A few seconds later she steps through the same door and takes a seat on the side of the couch closest to Mark, shaking his hand when she does. She glances over at Alex and Sara, noticing the hint of a smile on their faces but she doesn’t ask them what they’d been laughing about.

“Okay Mark. If you’re ready to do this, why don’t you start from the beginning?” Alex suggests, taking out his phone to record their conversation. Mark glances down at the phone as the audio program gets enabled and hesitates, rolling his lips inward and exhaling through his nose.

He takes a few more deep breaths and then flattens his fingers out on top of his thighs and his leg stops bouncing.

“Ten years ago, this guy named Joseph Seed showed up with a big group of people, calling themselves the Project at Eden’s Gate…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing to write here! Oh wait! The ghost hunter is an actual character from the game in which you can read a note from them at the hotel the trio is staying at. I shamelessly stole some of the wording used in the note. Like "that wacky cult". I've named him Sparky.
> 
> Incoming garbage lawyer man in 3...2...


	5. Investigative Journalism and the Law(yer)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark gives the low-down on what's happening in Hope County. The trio are skeptical of his claims, but before they can question him further John Seed decides to make an entrance.

Mark doesn’t tell them everything, but Alex didn’t really expect him to. Mostly, he gives vague information about how the Project showed up and the local pastor gave them his church to use. He even allowed Joseph Seed to preach his sermons there. That they bought up an otherwise unused parcel of land in the middle of where the river converged from each direction and turned it into an off-grid oasis. The Project’s people did community work and came to the weekend potlucks with everyone else. Then rumors started about them stockpiling guns and bringing in crates from outside the county that went straight to the mountains. A local engineer was commissioned to build them bunkers and no one blinked because apparently that’s just what people do around Hope County. The rumors were interesting but no one was worried about it. 

Then one day the group moved out of the church and started doing their own outdoor sermons where anyone could attend. Something had happened between the pastor and Joseph but no one knew what exactly. Out of the blue there was a rift between the two men and neither spoke to the other anymore. That was the first domino to fall, followed by many others. They started buying people’s homes; slowly over the years, but then they ramped up in the past year. Homes and businesses alike were bought. Those that didn’t sell to them were _supposedly_ pressured to do so.

The worst were the stories about farm equipment getting mysteriously destroyed. Homes were vandalized and families were forced to move out for their own safety or because they lost their source of income. To Alex it sounded like unverified claims, he and Sara exchanged a quick glance, unspoken words shared between them.

According to Mark, the locals were divided. Some wanted the Project to go back to where they came from while others left their families to join it, cutting off all contact in doing so.

Mark heard horror stories from his friend who worked as a ranger in the Whitetail Mountains. That kids were being recruited into some kind of militia youth program. That there were illegal exotic animals getting imported in but that they couldn’t do anything about it.

Alex had the audio recorder going, but he still takes notes in a book he’d brought along so he could remember the things he wanted to follow up on. The pastor seems important, and the ranger. Maybe they can check in with some of the families that had stuck around.

By the time Mark’s done talking a few hours had passed. There are still so many unanswered questions but Alex doesn’t want to overwhelm him.

“We have a lot we want to do as fast as possible. From the sounds of it the Project will know we’re here sooner rather than later, especially if we're asking around about them.” Alex thinks aloud. His plan is rooted in trusting that what Mark said wasn’t too blown out of proportion. Sara had a look of skepticism about it all, but she respected Mark and his story enough to keep it to herself for the time being. She only asked questions to clarify some parts of it, which Alex was grateful for. Not necessarily bad cop, good cop, but they had to have a level of incredulity to what was being said.

Alex stops the recording and looks at Mark. “Something we talked about before coming here was you being involved in this.”

“This?” Mark looks uncertain but interested.

“Investigating. Since people probably know you around here,” Mark scoffs softly, murmuring what sounds like ‘to say the least’, but Alex continues, “we’d have to keep you in the car for most of it but you’d be a safety net for us. Then we can split off in two teams of two and cover more ground.”

Mark looks between each of them. “You all think that’s a good idea?”

Sara hesitates then speaks up. “I don’t think we have the entire story yet and I’d like to hear it. Having you alongside us helps with that.”

“But only if you’re comfortable with it.” Hannah is quick to add.

Alex puts the small notebook into the pocket of his flannel shirt, and leans forward with his elbows atop his knees. He scoots forward, and angles himself towards Mark while waiting to hear what he has to say.

“Yeah, of course. I want to do anything I can to get my sister back. Whatever y’all need.”

There’s a collective sigh of relief from the trio because that was the first step they had to take. Now they could _really_ get started.

“Hannah was thinking we should see if the police will give us any information. I think that Pastor may be good to talk to and the Ranger you mentioned.” Alex gets down to business, laying out a plan verbally.

“The police aren’t gonna do shit. Folks ‘round here don’t really like outsiders anymore. Let alone journalists. No offense.” His eyes dart from Alex to Sara and then Hannah.

“None taken.” All three say at once.

“We’ll tell them that we’re touring the country, writing about the hidden gems of America.” The three of them had already agreed to this cover story back in Philadelphia. “Word will spread that we’re just vlogging tourists. We’ll downplay our interest in the Project and Linny in particular until we have to lay it all on the table.” Alex explains to Mark so he’s in on it as well.

“We happened to meet you first and you offered to show us around.” Sara says with a wink at Mark who doesn’t seem entirely on board with the idea.

“It’ll work, trust us.” Hannah reaches over and sets a hand on his knee.

“Okay, yeah. I’m in over my head here is all.” Mark smiles weakly at them.

“We’re here to keep you above water.” Alex gives him a thumbs up and Mark’s smile gets a little bigger.

The door slams open and Lila interrupts their conversation. “John Seed is here.”

“What?!” Mark gets to his feet and the trio stands up as well. “That son of a bitch I’m gonna-”

“No you are not gonna.” Alex steps past Hannah and blocks him from leaving. “Mark, you Hannah and Sara go back to the car.”

“What about you?” Hannah squints at Alex, her fingers twitching at her sides.

“I’m going to go in there, be a customer, and eavesdrop for a bit as I gather up snacks to buy.” And be backup in case Lila needs it. That part he keeps to himself so as not to offend her, but there was strength in numbers. He starts a new audio recording before slipping his phone into the back pocket of his pants. Lila’s jaw is tensed, but she doesn’t object to Alex being in the store at the same time. “You three go out the back exit then and be careful. He brought along his cronies.” She warns them before turning to go back into the front-end of the store.

Alex watches Mark lead Sara and Hannah out the back door, with only Sara looking back at him and mouthing ‘be careful’.

Lila holds the door open for Alex and he’s quick to position himself in the back corner. There’s a wall of refrigerated drinks at his back and a selection of Hostess snacks in front of him. He leans over to be less obtrusive and Lila stomps to the front of the store. She's almost reached the door when the bell chimes and in walks John Seed.

“You ain’t welcome here.” If he thought Lila had been steely cold with them before, her voice might as well be made of ice now. The threatening tone doesn’t seem to impact John in the slightest. He chuckles, the sound low and amused before the click of shoes indicate he’s walking further in rather than back out the way he came. Alex risks leaning further around the aisle to get a better angle at him and...

Hannah was right, this guy looked like an asshole. His dark hair is slicked back and he has the kind of beard Alex has never in his life been able to grow. His clothes look expensive, from the satin blue dress shirt with the sleeves partially rolled up to the vest that goes along with it. No respectable lawyer in Philadelphia would be caught dead with their shirt unbuttoned that much or with that amount of ink on display, but apparently John Seed didn’t have to worry about how he’s perceived or appearances.

Although he clearly worried about his _own_ judging by the care put into his look from head to toe.

Behind him stands two men, both armed with a handgun holstered to their leg, and once again Alex wonders how normal this could possibly be. Lila didn’t seem bothered by the show of strength, and holds her ground, only pivoting on her foot to track John when he walks past her and into the store, gliding a hand across bags of chips and empty spaces on the shelves.

“Delilah, please. I’m a paying customer.” He chuckles when he says so, entirely self-assured.

“I don’t want your damn money.” She barely lets him finish what he said before cutting him off. “Now get out.”

John stops his meandering, having yet to notice Alex from where he’s hunched over. He gestures at Delilah with a roll of one wrist. “That attitude explains why this place is going under.” He sounds way too pleased with himself. “I can help you with that. It’s what your mother would have wanted.” While he can’t see John’s face, he can see Lila’s and it has gone completely blank which is scarier than her yelling and shoving from earlier. 

“Do you really want her legacy to die like this?” His voice drops as he steps closer to Lila. When she doesn’t argue right away he takes the silence as permission to reach out and set his hands on her shoulders. “I _know_ you don’t.” Lila looks uncomfortable, but remains quiet. “You don’t even have to ask me Delilah, just say the word.” It’s getting harder to hear what he’s saying.

Alex crouches down and carefully sneaks back towards the employee’s room. Across from it is the door to the bathroom. He stands up and opens then shuts it, loud enough to be heard.

“Company?” John asks from the front of the store. When Alex walks around the corner, he’s backed up a few feet and angled himself so he can see Alex. Lila looks like she’s on the verge of crying.

It takes all of his willpower to smother down the anger he felt on her behalf, and to stop himself from walking over and placing himself between them. He doesn’t know what exactly is going on here, but he knows a bully when he sees one. Alex gives John Seed and then the two men standing guard at the door a once over before grabbing a few bags of chips and a case of off-brand Dr. Pepper. _Play it cool._

“Excuse me.” He says as he passes John Seed, dangerously close to bumping shoulders.

Lila takes the out that Alex provides and goes behind the counter, shooting John Seed one last murderous glare before starting to ring him up. “I don’t recognize you.” John says casually, walking up to lean against the counter like it belongs to him. Hip cocked with one elbow balanced on it, hand cradling his chin as he positions himself to better watch both Alex and Lila at the same time.

“Just passing through.” Alex doesn’t look at him. He keeps his eyes on Lila. “Hey, you happen to have any maps of the area?” He asks her and she kneels down to grab one from under the counter. He doesn’t need it, but he’s giving her time to re-center after what John Seed had said to upset her.

To his left, John hums, but doesn’t move. It’s borderline invasion of personal space how close he is. From the corner of his eye Alex sees his fingers tapping the vinyl wood of the counter, like he doesn’t care about what’s happening, but he knows that the man is watching him carefully. Those eyes have been darting between him and Lila since Alex got between them.

Lila slams her hands on the countertop. “Stop staring at my customers and get out of here Seed. I’m not gonna say it again.” There’s a sheen of unshed tears in her eyes, but the fire from before is back and it wins out thankfully.

John lifts his hands, palms forward and arms raised in a gesture of surrender as he backs off, chuckling again. “You know where to find me if you change your mind.” Alex doesn’t turn to watch as he leaves the store, only looking over when the door chimes and clicks shut.

He pulls cash out of his wallet to pay for the food he’d grabbed and hands it over to Lila as she jams her fingers over the buttons on the register, anger bubbling over. “That bastard.” Her voice has a hitch in it and her eyes are watery again. Oh no, she’s an angry crier. Alex turns away so she has some space. He watches John Seed get into the front passenger seat of a black SUV. There are two more of those white trucks parked behind and in front of him. Once he closes his door they drive off with only one of the men giving the store a lingering look.

Alex breathes out a sigh and turns back towards Lila. Thankfully she’s composed herself but her eyes are still red.

“My mom, Lorna, she went and joined up with the cult. She died not long after and since her will left the shop to me they’ve been comin’ here ever since trying to get me to join or sell.” Alex’s heart clenches painfully at her story of loss. “That asswipe already owns all of the Valley.” She stacks his food into a paper bag and then slides it over to him, but doesn’t let go when Alex grabs for it.

He looks up to see Lila staring directly at him with an intensity he hadn’t been expecting.

“Mark’s one of my best friends. Don’t let them do to Linny what they did to my mom.” They stare at one another for a few seconds and Alex nods his head once.

“I promise I’m going to do everything I can to get the truth out there.”

She exhales heavily, “Guess that’s the best I’m going to get but I’ll take it. Watch out for Mark.” Alex grips the bag in one hand and holds onto the case of soda with the other. He pushes the door open with a hip check and is half-way out the door when Lila mumbles what sounds like a ‘thank you’, but when he turns to glance back she’s facing away from him.

* * *

They decide to call it a day and meet up the next morning at a closed pizza bar that Mark points out on their map. Sara and Hannah agree to try and get ahold of the Ranger that Mark knew while Mark and Alex would go into town to try and talk with the police department. They had a jailhouse that wasn’t too far from the hotel they were staying at but if they wanted any chance at an interview then the main administrative building in Fall’s End was the place to go.

It wasn’t a very detailed plan but it was better than nothing.

On the drive back to the hotel Alex tells them about the brief exchange he witnessed in the gas station. This time Sara’s seated in the front while Alex is in the back.

“I’m still not convinced it’s this religious group behind everything. From the sounds of it that John guy is the one aggravating people, and what, because he's rich?” Sara leans against the headrest and shifts so she can see Alex. “Maybe we can find a copy of that book Joseph wrote and talk to some of the people _in_ the Project.”

Hannah tilts her head to one side, ear towards shoulder and hisses in a breath, “I don’t know about that yet. Let’s save them for last. If they were paranoid enough to take the ghost hunter’s equipment they wouldn’t hesitate with us. Better to get our footage, keep it on the cloud and then go to them last.”

“Agreed.” Alex chimes in and Sara sighs, sinking down in her seat a little. “Okay, that’s fair. Do you think we could talk to John?” She turns sideways so she faces Alex more easily while they talk.

“Eeeehhhh.” He drags the word out, not entirely sure if it’d be a good idea to talk to a lawyer. “Maybe? If we do we have to be careful about it.” He seriously considers it, concern etched on his face while he does. Sara frowns at him. “He has you worried.” She assumes correctly.

Alex’s eyes flick up to meet Sara’s. “You both saw Lila with those guys before. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t even flinch as she chased them off.” A shiver races down his spine. “I watched him tear her down with a few choice words.”

“Piece of crap lawyers.” Hannah mumbled under her breath.

“More than that though.” Alex sits up straighter, and when he glances back at Sara she’s biting at her bottom lip. “He made it sound reasonable, like he was the nice guy there. I knew he wasn’t. I could tell what he was doing and it _still_ came across like he was in the right. Interviewing him might not be worth the headache. Maybe I'm overreacting but it just felt weird.”

They don’t say anything else after that. Sara gazes out the window while Hannah keeps her eyes on the road and that leaves Alex stewing in the back. He considered himself fairly smart. Witty in a pinch, but he’s not on the same level as what he’d just witnessed. John Seed was a guy who had gone to school for what was essentially high stakes debate with an intimate understanding of the law.

He kept replaying the scene over in his head, wondering if he should’ve stepped in sooner. If he _shouldn’t_ have said anything and brought attention to himself.

Shit.

They hadn’t been in Hope County for more than eight hours and already he was stressing out and wondering if he should’ve done something different. They pull back into the hotel parking lot and all three take their time getting out of the car. Anna happens to be walking out the front door as they approach the steps and she waves, despite them only being a few feet away from her.

“Welcome back! Did you enjoy your day? There’s so much to see here. I hope y’all plan to stay long enough to take it all in.” Somehow she’s just as cheery as she was when they first arrived so many hours ago.

Alex blinks a couple of times. Exhaustion is catching up with him from the drive, Mark’s story and John Seed.

“Uh yeah. We met some really nice folks.” Alex cringes at how bland it sounds. Good one. She puts her hands on her hips, chin dropping forward and eyebrows raised. He takes the cue, “Including you obviously.” Anna laughs as she walks past them on the stairs. “Well y’all get some sleep. Morgan’s gettin’ set up for the nightshift so if you need anything he’ll be your guy.” Sara and Hannah shrug at one another but walk inside while Alex waits and watches Anna walk away.

There hadn’t been any other vehicles in the parking lot save for theirs and Sparky’s. Now there was an old rusted truck in one of the further spots, but still nothing else. So how did Anna get to work? Maybe she lived nearby? He didn’t recall seeing any houses on the drive or subdivisions.

He watches until she crests a hill and vanishes down the other side of the incline. The urge to follow her and figure out more about her is strong, but Hannah calls his name from where she’s holding the front door so he turns away and goes inside. He’s glad that Sara took up talking with Morgan at the front desk. It means he can walk past with a simple hello and go collapse on one of the two beds they had been graciously upgraded to. Hannah gives him a shove towards the stairs and juts her chin in that direction, but opts to stay with Sara at the front desk. She looked worried too. He makes a mental note to up his poker face game so Sara and Hannah don’t waste energy worrying about him.

Alex digs in his pocket for his key and realizes he forgot to stop the recording on his phone from earlier. Crap. He drags himself up the stairs, key in hand and unlocks the door to the room. Its two more steps to the closest bed once he’s inside and he promptly falls face first onto it with a groan.

He takes out his phone and lifts his head so he can see the screen. Then he goes through the motions of unlocking it so he can playback the recording.

“Shit!” He rolls over and sits up, a spike of adrenaline going through him when he realizes he hadn’t recorded anything. There’s no audio file other than the conversation with Mark. Nothing John Seed had said to Lila was captured. He drops the phone, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

There was the fuck up that he’d been worried about earlier.

Great. Just, great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for readin'. <33


	6. Divide and Conquer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex meets a few of Hope County's finest deputies, but can't seem to escape dealing with one problematic lawyer, everyone's favorite, John Seed. Meanwhile the girls try to locate a missing ranger, but struggle to get any information out of the locals to help in their search.

Alex fiddles with the pocketcam that’s going to get tucked away in his flannel shirt, turning it over in his fingers and powering it on as he does. It’s designed to perfectly line up with the buttonhole of his pocket and the lens even looks like a button. Of all the camcorders that they’ve got, this one is the sneakiest and has worked the best for keeping a low profile. It hadn’t cost that much and it was waterproof. It was probably the best purchase he’d made for recording footage, something he liked to remind Sara of since she’d been doubtful about its practicality.

“How does that work?” Mark startles him out of his fidgeting.

“You turn it on, make sure it’s recording and I also have it synced up to our cloud data storage for recordings. Basically, it’s all saved in an online storage server. It’s all backed up to my phone too. It usually records in fifteen or thirty minute chunks of time depending on what you set it to.”

“Why not just do one long recording?”

“Contingencies.” Alex tilts his head and meets Mark’s eyes. He arches one eyebrow, and Alex tucks the camera in his pocket. “It’s easier to dump all the videos to our YouTube in smaller chunks than it would be to upload one two hour video. If anything happens and we need to upload everything for whatever reason I can push them to our channel.” Mark looks a little lost, but Alex is focused on adjusting the camera until it sits right. “I usually upload them and keep them unlisted just to be safe.”

“Uh, right.” Mark drums his fingers on the steering wheel, watching as a few people cross the street towards the fishing and bait shop.

Alex gives the camera an experimental tap and leans left then right to see if it falls out. It doesn’t budge. “Alright, good to go.”

“Some people think the sheriff’s department is working with the cult you know.” Mark had been nervous about his plan to go and talk to the police. “If you’re trying to lay low that’s going to blow your cover.” His eyes drop to the pocket and he blinks in surprise. “That’s a camera?”

“Yep camcorder, and I’ve got this, don’t worry about it. All I need right now is for you to stay out here and keep an eye on things for me. If I don’t come out in an hour assume I’m booked.” Alex shoots for reassuring by making a joke, but somehow Mark looks more concerned. “I’m kidding, except about the if I don’t come out in an hour.” He hops out of the truck and closes the door, leaning into the open window, “If that happens tell Sara and Hannah.”

The town isn’t bustling but it’s a lot busier than the Hot Springs Hotel they were staying at. There’s at least a bit of foot traffic as couples walk from where they parked along the sidewalks, passing storefronts and entering others. A few of the businesses are closed despite it being eleven am. The bar being closed makes sense. The thrift store that has a mannequin in the window advertising a big sale being closed makes less sense.

Alex walks around a corner, hands in his pockets, casually meandering as he pauses to check out some of the stores along the way. He’d had Mark park further from the police station so no one saw them together. He sidesteps out of the way of an older woman who walks past, giving him a wide berth as she picks up her pace to put some distance between them. Alex doesn’t take it personally. He continues on towards City Hall that, according to Hope County’s government website, also served as the public safety committee, and housed the police department alongside the mayor’s office…all in one building.

He comes to a stop, staring up at the front of a brick building. There’s a sign that advertises it as Hope County Municipal Complex with swinging doors and a lobby waiting at the top of a set of stairs, but it does not look big enough to house everything that it supposedly did. Alex hops up the steps, opening the glass door, wondering if it’s bulletproof or not. Probably not. The lobby has vinyl flooring and two doors. To the left is a sign that says ‘Municipal’ and to the right is ‘Sheriff’s Department’. He takes the door on the right, entering into another smaller waiting room. There’s a built in wooden desk that has a series of wall shelves behind it with little cubbies void of paperwork save for a few with errant envelopes. There are a couple of plastic chairs that look like they came from the 70s to his right against the wall, and another door to the left of the desk that probably goes back to the offices where the police officers work.

“Hello there, can I help you hun?”

Alex’s eyes snap back to the desk where a woman is sitting with a warm smile on her face. She looks like she could be in her 50s with brunette hair that’s starting to grey that brushes her shoulders. He walks over towards the desk, a smile on his face to match hers.

“Hi. My name’s Alex. I’m new in town, but here for business.” The woman leans forward, eyes wide with curiosity. The nameplate on the desk says ‘Nancy’. Alex gestures to the camcorder slung around his shoulder. It serves as a deflection from the one in his pocket, not that anyone has ever noticed it, but better safe than sorry. “My friends and I write articles about towns we visit. Places to explore, areas off the beaten path, y’know?” His explanation gets a nod of understanding from Nancy. “We like to check in when we get in to town and make sure that it’s alright if we go around recording or if there’s any places are off limits.”

Alex chuckles here, one hand rubbing at the back of his head, “We don’t want to get arrested for trespassing or anything and cause trouble for the local cops.” It’s not _exactly_ a lie.

“Well that sure is sweet of you to do.” Nancy says with an honest-to-god twinkle in her eye. “Just one sec sweetie.” _How many terms of endearment can she go through in one conversation?_ Alex wonders, watching as she spins in her chair and gets up, walking back to the door and opening it without even unlocking it. Alex gets a glimpse of a uniform at a desk, coffee cup lifted to their face. There’s a nameplate there too, all he can read is ‘R’ before the door shuts behind her.

He glances around, studying the lobby, specifically what’s in it. There aren’t any security cameras, none that he can see that is, and the walls are a pale off pink cream color that has probably faded over the years. There are various certificates and boards with engraved nametags hanging up around the room. He walks over to read one;

_Officers Who Gave Their Lives to Uphold Hope County’s Values_

The list isn’t too long, there are about a dozen names on it. The most recent one dates a few years back. _‘Lt._ _Danny Cattaneo’_.

“You can go on back sweetie. Sheriff Whitehorse’s office is straight back through that door. Can’t miss it.” Nancy’s voice interrupts him and he turns back to see her lifting the little divide between the lobby and the space behind her desk. _Holy shit, the sheriff?_ Alex tries not to let it spook him, and smiles at her. “Thank you ma’am.”

She’s already seated at her desk again, picking up a phone from its cradle and dialing in a number while waving at him with the other, “Oh it’s Nancy, no ma’am here, but you’re welcome sweetheart. Go on back now and don’t mind Deputy Pratt.” Then she greets someone on the phone and Alex steps behind the desk, closing the divider behind him before going through the door that separated the offices from the lobby. It’s about what he expected. There are 12 or so desks scattered around, facing one another in sets of two. In the corners are L-shaped desks that have corkboards on the wall beside them. There are three officers milling about. The one he’d caught a glance of drinking coffee now has their back to him and is standing at one of the boards in the corner. Beside them is a woman with long dark hair in a braid curled over one shoulder. They’re talking in hushed tones.

Straight ahead is a wooden wall divider with windows that have blinds on the inside that are closed. The door’s open though and Alex can see the curving font face on it that reads Sheriff Whitehorse. He can hear someone talking from inside.

“Tourist, huh?” The third deputy standing by himself speaks up and Alex turns to face him. The guy’s leaning against a desk, half seated on it with his legs crossed at the ankles. He seems very much at ease, watching Alex with an unimpressed, borderline smug expression.

“I mean, yeah I guess.” Alex doesn’t smile at him the way he did Nancy. He has a feeling smiles don’t do much for this guy. A glance to the nametag on his uniform – _Pratt_. Oh, the one Nancy warned him about.

“Tourist kind of makes me sound like an asshole though.” Pratt snorts. “There’s not many good associations with the word.” Alex clarifies and Pratt mumbles, “Damn right about that.” He pushes off his desk and walks a little closer. He can’t be _that_ much older than Alex, but he is a good five or six inches taller. “The sheriff-?” Alex hooks a thumb in the direction of said Sheriff’s office but Deputy Pratt hasn’t given him the go-ahead to move on and Alex pegs him as someone who wouldn’t take kindly to being dismissed, even if it’s for a ranking officer.

“Yeah he’s finishing up a call. So, you always stop by the sheriff’s department when touring a new town?” The guy’s digging but Alex is prepared for that. His face remains blank, impassive, he’s spent over a decade working on his poker-face and he’s not going to give the deputy anything. “What kind of tourist are you?”

 _He is not going to let the tourist thing go, is he?_ Alex glances over at the other deputies standing in the corner but they’re engrossed in whatever it is they’re talking about. Slowly his eyes shift from them back to Deputy Pratt. “Technically I’m a journalist. We travel and write about the places we visit.” He doesn’t offer him more than that.

“Uh huh. Interesting time you decided to visit Hope County.” Deputy Pratt says, clearly skeptical of him.

“Why’s that?” Alex doesn’t have to fake sounding genuine about his interest, about his curiosity. He’ll play up the role of clueless tourist because he _kind of_ is. Mark hadn’t given them a lot to go on and he was a biased source, even if they were here for him, they had to consider every angle.

“You’re kidding me.” The deputy deadpans, staring at him like he’s just said that he doesn’t know what 2+2 equals. Alex merely shrugs his shoulders and gives a shake of his head, _clueless_. “Yeah I’m not going there with you, but-”

“Deputy.” An older sounding man interrupts the conversation and all four of them turn to look. The Sheriff has a cowboy hat, a moustache and a pair of cowboy boots that are all straight out of the western films Alex had never been fond of.

He has his eyes on Pratt who straightens up a little more, “Sir?”

“Just got a call out of the Whitetail’s, that’s on you today. Nancy has the information about it up front.” Just like that he’s dismissed and steps around Alex, nearly bumping into him on his way out the door. Alex doesn’t watch Deputy Pratt leave, instead he keeps his eyes on the Sheriff who waves him over towards his office.

On the short walk over he tries to get a glimpse of the board the other two deputies are looking at again, but they’re blocking most of it. All he can see are a few pictures of people with clips of typed paper beneath them.

The Sheriff is standing just inside the door, waiting for him. When Alex enters, he closes it then gestures for him to take a seat in one of two chairs on the side of the desk closest to the door. “I’m Sheriff Whitehorse.” He introduces himself as he walks around to sit in the larger chair behind the desk. Alex takes the time to look at the newspaper clippings framed on the wall, interspersed with rodeo awards and what looks like one of those singing fish. There’s a suspicious lack of family photographs and he wonders if the sheriff likes to keep his work and family life separate.

“Nice to meet you Sheriff, I’m Alex. And I’m sorry to bother you sir, I wasn’t thinking I’d see a sheriff when I came by.” Alex opens the conversation, apologetic and _truly_ so because he doesn’t know if this is going to go poorly or not. The Sheriff is eyeing him up, not in the same way his Deputy did, but with the kind of quiet confidence that only came with years of experience in his job. It cuts through Alex, but he doesn’t show a hint of uncertainty. He’s had years of practice too.

“Son, why are you here?” The Sheriff asks, with a somber look in his eyes. Lying isn’t Alex’s forte, especially when he’s being given the X-Ray treatment by a sheriff.

“We’re journalists, sort of. We write about a bunch of different things and decided Hope County would be our next story.” That’s about as close to the truth as he can get without lying or giving anything away.

“Nancy said you’re writing about places to visit, wanted to warn us about recording and where not to go.” It’s not phrased as a question but Alex answers it like it was anyway.

“Yes sir. Sometimes small towns get spooked when strangers show up with camcorders and there’s enough people open carrying around here to have me nervous about trespassing on someone’s property and getting shot.”

A corner of the sheriff’s mouth quirks up at that. “Well, you’re not wrong. Folks ‘round here like their privacy. It’s why most of ‘em moved here.” He drags open a drawer in his desk and pulls out a pack of gum, offering one to Alex who shakes his head, with a ‘no thank you’. He unfolds the wrapper and tosses it into a waste-bin before popping the pink square into his mouth. “To make things crystal clear, you’re _not_ here on account of Eden’s Gate?” The sheriff chews slowly while he stares at Alex.

Alex’s heart is racing, but he keeps his cool and shrugs one shoulder. “We heard about that, yeah.” He avoids answering it, avoids having to lie. “A guy named Mark mentioned them and a few other people have too.” Here he pauses, glancing down then back up to Sheriff Whitehorse. “Honestly, I’m a little spooked. We don’t want to step on anyone’s toes while we’re recording footage.” _Or have anyone take their equipment._

The Sheriff groans, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose when Alex mentions Mark.

“That boy has been through a lot. He’s not on good terms with the Project so don’t go letting him put ideas in your head.” Alex mentally cringes, _yeah about that…_ “Things are tense right now and it’s hard enough keeping the peace around here. I don’t want to hear about you and your crew getting into trouble they shouldn’t.” It sounds more like a talking-down to from a parent than a warning from an officer of the law. He seems nice, which is a weird change of pace from what Alex is used to when dealing with the police.

“Mark said a lot of people have gone missing.” Alex tests his boundaries with the Sheriff, watching him for a reaction. He looks tired. Tired and cautious.

“Hope County is a big area with a lot of land. It happens in these rural areas, but if you’re worried about it don’t go off any paths you shouldn’t. Stay on the trails and don’t go wandering in the mountains.” It’s solid advice, very _obvious_ advice, but Alex nods his head like it’s all new to him anyway.

“We don’t plan on getting lost in the woods.” Alex reassures him.

“I doubt anyone ever does, son.”

“Alright, touché.” Alex scratches at his chin and the banter surprises a laugh out of the Sheriff.

“Keep your nose clean and we won’t have a problem. How you deal with folks gets back to me and if I hear you’re harassing people then we’ll have an issue. Respect is a two way street.” A silence settles between them with Alex uncertain of how to reply to that right away.

In the few seconds he takes to think up a response there’s a commotion from outside the office, a woman requesting that the Sheriff ‘come help with this’ gets Whitehorse’s attention and he stands up with another heavy sigh. Alex imagines his bones creak when he does.

“Thank you for your time Sheriff.” Alex knows when he’s about to be dismissed, and the Sheriff nods at him. He walks around to open the door for Alex who thanks him again. He crosses the threshold and his eyes dart up to see what’s going on. A full body flinch almost sends him back into the sheriff’s office when he sees who’s standing in front of one of the desks.

John Seed.

He’s dressed much the same as he was the other day with a button down shirt, only this time the sleeves are unrolled to his wrists and he has a tailored suit jacket on over the vest. He’s dressed less business casual and more like he’s headed for the courthouse in a dark grey suit. The Sheriff gestures for Alex to go towards the door he came through, which unfortunately requires him to walk past John.

Only one deputy remains, the one with dark hair braided over one shoulder is standing behind her desk with hands on her hips. She’s facing down John with a tense line running down her back, shoulders squared. Maybe she’s like that with everyone while on duty.

Or maybe she knows something about John Seed and is on guard for a reason.

John Seed is less intimidating today compared to yesterday. He still has the confidence of someone who knows they have the upper hand, but it’s in the way Alex can sort of understand. The gas station had a weird vibe to it. This feels more civil, more normal. Your average, run of the mill confident lawyer standing off with an officer of the law rather than pressuring Lila to give in to selling her business. When Alex and Sheriff Whitehorse start to walk towards them, John’s eyes shift from the deputy to the pair, locking on Alex. His eyebrows lift slightly, and his eyes narrow.

“Sheriff, always a pleasure to see you.” John ignores him, even though Alex knows that he knows that they saw one another the day before. He walks around the deputy’s desk, and John, intent on reaching the door without incident.

“Mr. Seed, here for the paperwork I assume.” The Sheriff’s voice follows Alex through the door, cut off when it swings shut behind him. He hurries forward, but is stopped when Nancy calls out after him. “Hold up hun!”

Alex wants nothing more than to rush out the door and check to make sure that Mark is okay, but that’d be rude and blow his casual tourist cover so he exhales all the nervous energy in his lungs out and turns on his heel to face Nancy.

“You said you were gonna be here a while right, covering that article of yours?”

He glances over at the door, expecting John Seed to open it at any second, then back to Nancy.

“Yeah, probably a week or so.” Likely more.

Nancy’s eyes light up and she reaches for a stack of papers, grabbing one off the top. “We have the fourth of July town event every year, well obviously. If you and your friends are plannin’ on staying through then you should come to the festivities!” She hands the colorful piece of paper to him and Alex scans the sheet. It has times for events, a location for where they’d be taking place and when he flips it over there’s even more information about a woman named Grace Armstrong, a picture of a dog, and something about ‘meeting the local stars!’

“Sounds fun, thanks.” Alex folds the flyer and slips it into the back pocket of his pants.

“We’d love to have you and yours there. Oh! We have potlucks at the church every Sunday too! If you’re gonna talk about the town you oughta attend at least one. Father Jerome would love to have new faces in the crowd!” Nancy is the kind of nice that is impossible to escape from since she doesn’t stop talking, and Alex doesn’t want to hurt her feelings by interrupting her because she seems sincerely kind. She and Anna from the Hotel would be a hell of a tag-team for an inescapable conversation.

“Definitely, uh, are nonbelievers allowed?” He asks, and it’s a bit of a probing question to see how she handles it. To his amazement she isn’t fazed.

“Oh of course honey, all are welcome.” Which Alex smiles at, “Thanks ma’am-”

“Nancy!” She interrupts with a soft chuckle. “This Sunday, two pm out back behind the church here in Fall’s End.” Alex swivels around on one foot, _finally_ able to leave. He calls a ‘thank you’ over one shoulder as he escapes into the main lobby and then he makes a beeline to the front doors. The moment he’s outside he takes in a deep, lungful of air. It’s getting warmer and he _loves_ it. Summertime was always his favorite season and the heat of the sun helps dispel some of the goose bumps that had settled at the base of his neck from being in the same room as John Seed for a second day in a row.

He skips down the steps, eager to put some space between him and the building. His shoes hit the sidewalk and –

“Just passing through, was it?” _So much for that_.

Alex stops, then contemplates leaving anyway, but that feels too much like running away so he turns around and watches John Seed walk down the same set of stairs with a briefcase in one hand, the other at the tie around his neck as he adjusts it slightly, loosening the silk knot.

“I didn’t say how long it’d be until I did.” Alex counters, knowing he shouldn’t rise to the bait, knowing he should be _nice_ and non-combative, but he can’t seem to stop himself from making a smart remark.

John pauses, polished dress shoes clicking to a stop as he glances up, appearing startled for a moment. Then he smiles, and he tilts his head while looking at Alex. It’s the kind of appraising look he’d been given by rich people at the events his parents attended. The one where he’d say something unexpected to one of the benefactors or professors who were guests too, and they suddenly had a newfound interest in the quiet boy who kept his head down.

It feels like being judged and found worthy of something he doesn’t want.

“Hm, I suppose you didn't.” John murmurs, and then the look is gone as quickly as it came. He’s back to the professional demeanor Alex briefly glimpsed when he stepped out of the sheriff’s office. “Although it is interesting to see someone, supposedly _just_ passing through,” a pointed look, “for whatever length of time that is, visiting with the law.” His fingers smooth down his shirt, which is already free of wrinkles before he then gestures, palm up like he’s offering his hand to Alex. “If you have problems requiring a lawyer,” the hand returns to his chest, fingers steepled over his heart, “you’re in luck.”

“I don’t.” The answer is succinct and holds no room for argument or explanation. It’s a good place to end the conversation on so he turns and walks away, but not in the direction of Mark’s truck. He’ll circle around the town a couple of times just in case.

“It was a pleasure to meet you Alex!” John pitches his voice to carry, and Alex doesn’t think anything of it until he realizes he’d never told him his name. They’d never been properly introduced. He spins around to find John standing where he left him, watching Alex with a smile. His bright blue eyes have a glint of something unpleasant there, and the moment Alex meets his gaze, he flicks open a pair of sunglasses and put them on. He waits a beat then walks away. Alex’s lips press together into a thin line as he watches and thinks about what just happened. John Seed had waited to see what his reaction would be to hearing his name called, knowing that he’d never given it. The goose bumps are back in full force.

Alex watches him get into an expensive looking SUV, sleek, black and complete with tinted windows. He’d parked in front of the municipal building, and when he pulls off he drives directly past Alex then takes a left onto the main road out of town. Alex stands there, mind running a mile a minute. He’s not sure how long it’d been before a truck pulls up alongside him and he turns to face the driver, surprised to see Mark.

“You gonna stand there all day?” Mark tries to sound lighthearted, but his face is pinched with concern. He’d seen the odd exchange with John, but hadn’t heard anything from where he was parked. Alex walks over to the passenger side and then hauls himself up into the seat. The door creaks when he pulls it shut. Mark eases off the brakes, slowly accelerating while casting nervous glances over at Alex who has been quiet since he got in. Only after he’s turned the pocketcam off and rolled down the window for some fresh air does Alex say anything.

“He knew my name.”

“What?” Mark’s knuckles whiten from how tightly he’s now holding the steering wheel.

“He _knew_ my name.”

“Fuck.” Mark mumbles to which Alex sighs,

“Yeah. Fuck.”

Alex runs a hand through his hair, “Someone told him. We _just_ got here and someone told him. Who? Why? We haven’t done anything.” He sounds as frustrated as he feels. “I’m sorry Mark. This isn’t ideal but maybe he still thinks we’re visiting the county and not up to anything. There’s no way they can know about us being here for Linny.”

“Is your full name on the reservation for the hotel?” Mark asks, eyes flicking from the road over to Alex.

“I used a different last name and am paying in cash. Why?” His mind instantly jumps to an uncomfortable conclusion. That Anna for some reason was involved with John knowing who he was. That she’d said something. He won’t dismiss any possibility, but for now he tries not to assume anything. “We’ll be extra careful and stick with the current cover. We’ve done and said nothing to indicate we’re here for any other reason.” _Play it cool_.

Mark accepts that explanation, nodding along. “If you say so. I hope Sara and Hannah are having more luck.”

“You and me both buddy.” Alex leans back in the seat, watching the buildings pass by, getting further and further apart until there’s nothing but open fields.

* * *

“What do you mean, missing?” Sara asks, eyebrows furrowed and one hand on her hip.

“He left a note, said he was leaving and going home.” The ranger says, her long dark hair tightly braided on either side of her head and reaching down past her shoulder-blades. She’s picking up some items around the room and piling them into a cardboard box. “But I know him and he wouldn’t do that. His dream was being a ranger and settling down in Hope County. He had that, so why would he leave-” she shakes her head and slips a couple of framed pictures into the box before turning and looking at Sara and Hannah, “without taking any of his stuff?”

They’d come to the Whitetails to talk to Mark’s ranger friend, only to find that he had apparently left the area to go back home to the Reservation where his family still lived.

“Do you mind if we look at the note?” Hannah asks.

“I do actually. No offense, but while Mark may know you two I don’t.” Sara and Hannah share a brief, unspoken moment of understanding, and Hannah nods her head. “Would you at least tell him to call Mark if he turns up?”

The ranger, who’d introduced herself as Josie when they first got to the outpost, nods her head and gets back to gathering random things that must’ve belonged to the ranger who’d left. They walk towards the door, but stop short of it when they hear man’s voice over the radio from the backroom. Josie leaves to go and answer it.

“Heads up Josie, I’ve got a deputy comin’ up here. Eli made another report and I’ve got to handle that scientist that’s been studying the wildlife. We’re shorthanded as is, over.”

Sara and Hannah linger beside the door, straining to listen as Josie responds, “Copy that. Where they at? Over.”

The radio clicks and the man’s sigh can be heard through the crackling of the static, “At the dock, the one straight north from the station. Over.”

Hannah opens the door and Sara slips out, Hannah close behind as she carefully eases it shut so they don’t make a loud sound. “North then?” Sara asks with a small smile.

“North it is.” Hannah agrees, jaw tense as she watches the treetops sway in the breeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Featuring THE DEPUTY. Sort of, not really yet. I'm keeping Rook as an unknown for now, but there will be more cameos from the rest of the cast as we progress through the story. Our favorite mountain man Eli is up next. 
> 
> I sort of forgot to upload this on Friday, it's been a week, my bad!


	7. Mixed Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Hannah drive deeper into the Whitetail mountains and witness an eerie exchange between the locals, granting them their first look at Jacob Seed and the group's digging has not gone unnoticed.

While they have reception at the ranger’s station, Sara texts Alex to let him know where they’re going. It takes nearly five minutes for the message to send through, but once she gets a check mark beside it indicating he’d seen it she gives Hannah a thumbs up. Sara navigates from the passenger seat, trying to figure out which dock ‘directly north’ of the outpost the man had been talking about, squinting at the map while giving Hannah directions on where to turn. After a couple of u-turns and backtracking they eventually spot the right one.

It’s easy enough what with all of the trucks covered in Eden’s Gate symbols parked nearby along with the small gathering of people, both from the project and in plain clothes. There’s a clear divide between one side and the other. The project has more numbers it looks like with about twenty or so people standing beside a docked inflatable dinghy with crates and barrels loaded up on it. A man wearing fatigues stands with his arms crossed, facing down the project’s people with a pinched expression. There are a few other people near him. A woman with a bob haircut and a sweater stands just behind and to his left and beside her is a young kid, with braids much like Ranger Josie, and a baseball hat on backwards.

“You recording?” Hannah asks and Sara picks up her cell phone, turning to a camcorder app that can record even when the screen is locked. She starts recording and slips it into the front pocket of her shorts so the camera is pointing outwards. Then she picks up their go-pro and hits the record button on it too.

“I am now.”

“Let’s go.” Hannah grabs her binoculars before slipping out of the driver’s seat. She’d parked far enough away to avoid catching anyone’s attention which gives them the room to maneuver through the trees and stay out of sight. Once they’re at a good vantage point they crouch down, with Hannah acting as lookout and Sara holding onto the go-pro camera. It’s a small box that she can hide in her hand or bra if push comes to shove. The handheld captures what the phone in her pocket can’t.

“You don’t own this stretch of the river brother.” A man in a black hunting vest and a red sweater says to the one in the fatigues. The project’s cross is painted on the front of his sweater on the lower left side, barely visible.

“You sure as shit don’t either!” The woman with the bob cut speaks up, “And dumping in the water is a federal offense.”

The man’s attention strays over towards her and Sara swears a look of pure hatred flashes in his eyes when he does. “Tammy,” his voice is colder than it was a moment ago, “would you like to see Mark?” Hannah and Sara glance at one another, confused about what Mark had to do with this woman. It gets a reaction, and she takes a step forward, fingers curled into fists as she says,

“You think that’s cute? I’ll show you cute you motherfu-” The one in fatigues with a furrowed brow, standing at the front turns and holds out a hand, stopping her from crossing whatever invisible line in the dirt there was between their groups.

“Not here.” He’s got a quiet voice, but it carries.

“If not here, then _where_ Eli?” She hisses the question out. The project's leader, the one in the red sweater shows no reaction, and the people around him seem just as nonplussed by her frustration. 

The man, Eli, shakes his head and repeats, “Not here.”

An engine rumbles closer and Hannah shifts, leaning backwards to see a cop car pulling into the parking lot. A deputy with dark hair steps out, aviators blocking out the sun and them from seeing much of his face. He’s got a bit of stubble, and has a wide gait, confident. He strides over and stops between the two groups, “Eli, always good to hear from you.” There’s unmistakable sarcasm in his words but Eli doesn’t seem to take any offense from it.

The same couldn’t be said of Tammy who visibly bristles beside him. The teen also seems irritated by the deputy’s dismissive tone.

“I know you don’t like making the drive deputy but I’ve been warning you all for months. They’re dumping barrels into the rivers now.” Eli unfolds his arms to gesture with one at the boat.

Silence follows as the deputy takes time to absorb that information, slowly looking from Eli and his people over to the project and theirs. “That true?” He asks and Tammy scoffs,

“Why the hell are you asking them? They aren’t going to tell the truth.” She sounds as exasperated as she looks. Eli gives a small wave of his hand, a ‘calm’ gesture that she rolls her eyes at.

“No sir.” The man in red answers, and Tammy throws an open handed gesture as though to say ‘you see?’

The deputy sighs long and heavy, pivoting so he’s facing Eli without turning his back on the project. “Eli, if it’s a he-said she-said you know I can’t do anything about it.”

“Look in their barrels!” The teen finally speaks up, and everyone zeroes in on him. He shrinks momentarily under the scrutiny, “It was some green stuff. It smelled sweet, kinda like flowers.” There’s another beat of silence after this as the deputy slowly looks over at the project members. 

“What’s in there?” He asks, eyebrows raised enough to be seen from behind his sunglasses.

“Private property.” A new voice interrupts.

Sara jumps, her heart rate spiking from the unexpected arrival of a man also wearing fatigues but with red hair and what look like burns on half his face. “Where the hell did he come from?” She whispers at Hannah who points towards the road.

“He did what we did.” She whispers back, eyes fixed on him, watching him as he moved towards the group. There’s soft murmurs from the project’s people, but Sara can’t make out what they’re saying. The man in red who’d been talking to Eli takes a step back, a show of submission from Sara’s point of view. They clearly respect this guy, whoever he is.

T he deputy doesn’t seem as impressed as the project’s people with his arrival, neither does Eli, but Tammy and the teen both seem on edge. “Eli.” His voice is gruff, hard to read. He stands closer to Eli than any of the others had, even the deputy seems to give them a little bit of space. There was something personal there. 

“Jacob.” Eli’s reply is as plain as the other man’s – Jacob’s. His voice is still soft and just as hard to read. If they weren’t clearly on opposing sides of whatever’s going on here then they’d be two peas in a pod from what Sara can tell.

The deputy clears his throat and Sara swears she can see Jacob’s mouth twitch, and then it hits her.  This is Jacob Seed, the brother Alex was researching  on their drive to Montana.

“Unless you have a warrant, I don’t think we have anything more to say here.” Jacob is calm and collected, arms folded across his chest and body language relaxed given the seriousness of the situation.

The deputy runs a hand through his hair, maybe a nervous tic before gesturing at the three of them. “I can take your statements, but he’s right.” And the deputy doesn’t sound pleased about it.  The teenager glances between Jacob then Eli and finally the deputy, looking shocked at the way this had played out. 

“Are you kidding me?” He mumbles it under his breath and Tammy lifts her head, looking down her nose somehow at the deputy despite being much smaller than him.

“I told you they wouldn’t be any help.” She says this to Eli who has yet to budge or show any hint of backing down.

“Well, statements or not?” The deputy asks. He seems to be getting frustrated the longer this stand off stretches on.

J acob has yet to look away from Eli who is just as keen on returning his stare, and it’s after a few seconds of quiet that  Eli declares, “I’ve got video.” 

_That_ gets a reaction. The deputy seems to perk up, stepping closer to the pair while Jacob’s glare turns heated. “With you?” The deputy asks, and Eli, without looking away from Jacob says, “Back at my place.” 

“Wait – are you mounting cameras in the woods? Eli, that’s illegal.” The deputy doesn’t sound too upset by it, and Eli finally looks away from Jacob to give the deputy a blank look.

“Half the people up here have trap cameras and camcorders for hunting.” Eli doesn't sound worried about being arrested.

The deputy’s head tilts to the side, a silent agreement of them not being able to really punish him for it.  Then he seems to realize something and sighs heavily, turning away from the group to walk a few steps to the side, conveniently towards where Sara and Hannah are hiding, to radio for more help.

“Hey Joey. Need you up here. It seems like Eli finally got video of the Peggies doing something illegal we can nail ‘em on. I need someone to keep an eye on them while I go with Eli to get the video footage.” The earpiece means they can’t hear whatever Joey says on the other end, but he replies back, “Affirm,” and then turns back towards the group. There’s soft whispering, quiet conversations between the project’s people while Tammy and Eli keep their eyes on Jacob. 

“Alright I’ve got another deputy coming up to assist with this. You sure you don’t want to show me what’s in there and get it over with?” He asks Jacob this, and he shakes his head in response.

“Show me a warrant and then we’ll talk.” Jacob takes a phone out of his back pocket and turns his back on the deputy, walking towards the shoreline of the river. People step aside, making way for him as though he were Moses parting the sea. It’s eerie to watch. He holds the phone to his ear, and while he walks off the deputy leans in towards Eli and says something too quiet for them to hear. 

Eli’s chin dips but he doesn’t say anything.

Not much happens after that. Jacob speaks to the man in the red sweater once he’s off the phone and the only time he looks away is to look at Eli. And every time he does, Eli is there, waiting and watching him back.  After what felt like a lifetime, another vehicle pulls in, but it isn’t a deputy’s patrol vehicle. It’s a black SUV and out steps John Seed. 

“Shit.” Sara murmurs, watching him go over and talk with his brother. They didn’t look much alike when standing next to one another. John was smaller, lithe and has a head of dark hair while Jacob was taller, a little broader in the shoulders and unmistakably ginger. But they both had an intensity about them that probably ran in the family. After they exchange words, the man in the red sweater goes to get back into the boat, keys in hand. 

“Woah, woah what the heck?!” The teenager points, “What are they doing?”

The deputy walks after him but John intercepts. “Unless you have a warrant or cause for holding them, you don’t have the jurisdiction to keep them here.” The man in red lingers at the edge of the dock, awaiting a command. 

The deputy glances over his shoulder at Eli and the teenager, “How confident are you in what you saw?”

“One hundred percent.” The teenager doesn’t hesitate, and Eli casts a sidelong glance at him, “Wheaty...” It’s a warning kind of tone, one that probably means well but the teenager gives him a defiant look. “One. Hundred. Percent.” He repeats.

“Alright.” The deputy says, “Then I’m searching it.” He starts walking towards the boat again and John steps in his path again. “Reasonable suspicion.” The deputy declares, hands on his hips as he faces down John.

“Deputy, be rational. This is a man that’s had a personal vendetta against my brother for months now.” John gestures at Eli. "He'd say anything to get you to infringe on our rights and cause a scene. Especially when it's over nothing." 

“ _He’s_ not the eye-witness.” The deputy counters. 

“He might as well be. That boy would say anything to get his approval.” John doesn’t bother looking at Wheaty when he says it, and Eli has to hold _him_ back with a hand much the same way he did Tammy earlier. 

“Yeah," the deputy doesn't sound convinced of it, "be that as it may I’m still going to search the boat.” The deputy is taller than John and tilts his head down when he says, “Now stand aside _sir_.” 

W ith an unnecessary flourish John does so, giving a half bow and sweeping motion of one arm towards the boat like he’s inviting the deputy to  go ahead.  Jacob lurks a short ways off, arms folded, and body still except for his eyes that track the deputy while he walks around John. He looks tense, coiled, ready to strike at a moment’s notice, but he doesn’t interfere with his brother as he handles the situation. 

O nce at the dock the deputy hesitates, and Sara notices something's off, but it’s Hannah who murmurs, “It’s sinking.” 

The deputy is quick to move, hopping into the boat and wading through water to get to  one of the barrels. He gets his fingers around the lip of  its lid and works on prying it open.  When he does he is quick to cover his mouth and nose with the crook of his elbow, as though he’d just smelled something and was trying to block it out. 

He reaches down, arm disappearing beneath the water before he lifts it up with his other hand. Somehow he managed to do so, flipping it over as though it weighed nothing.

“What is he looking at?” Sara asks.

Hannah has lifted her binoculars to her eyes so she can get a closer look.

“Nothing. There’s an arrow in the bottom of the barrel.”

“ _What?!_ ” Sara’s exclamation is hushed. 

Now that the deputy is in the boat and moving around it’s sinking much faster. When he wades back over to the dock and drags himself up he’s soaked nearly up to mid thigh and his right arm is dripping water too.

John watches him, and after a brief moment comments, “Well that’s a shame.”

“More like awfully convenient.” Eli grinds out through his teeth.

John’s attention shifts from the deputy over to Eli. “I’d say it was your doing given how much you enjoy hunting with a...What is it again? A compound bow was it?”

“You’re kidding me.” Eli is starting to sound upset and the deputy looks pissed off now, his aviators unable to hide that level of irritation.

“Shut up, both of you. I’m calling the fire department to come drag that out of the water and the four of you are coming down to the station.” He points at Eli, Wheaty, Jacob and then John in succession. 

“There’s someone on the hill.” Hannah points out, drawing Sara’s attention away from the group of people to where she’s pointing. She offers the binoculars to her, and they exchange items. Hannah holds the go-pro, keeping it fixed on the scene while Sara lifts them to her eyes and turns her head to look in the direction Hannah indicated.

It takes her a little while before she spots someone crouched between a patch of bushes. They’ve got a red sweater on, similar to the man who spoke with Jacob and a black ski mask. In one hand is a….compound bow.

“You think-?” Sara starts the question but doesn’t finish it. Hannah shakes her head, “I don’t know.”

The deputy is radioing for even more backup from the fire department this time while John speaks to Jacob. They’re starting to issue commands to the project’s people and they slowly start gathering their things and moving to disperse.

“We should go.” Hannah moves from where she’d been laying flat on her stomach and crouches, handing the go-pro back to Sara who has looped the binoculars over her neck.

“Yeah.” The last thing they needed was for the cops or fire department finding their parked car and asking them what they were doing here and why they’d been eavesdropping. Sara stands up beside Hannah, pausing to give one last look back in the direction of the dock. Her blood runs cold when she sees Jacob Seed staring right back at her.

Or so she thought. His eyes slide across their spot to the rest of the forest around the area before settling on the deputy. Maybe she’d imagined it.

“Sara.” Hannah whispers her name and she turns to follow after her, eager to get out of the Whitetail mountains. Once back at the car Sara stops the recording on both the go-pro and her cell phone. Then she leans back in the passenger seat, exhaling heavily. Hannah has a gift for remembering exactly how to backtrack and how to get back to where they started after having only been there once before. She doesn’t need Sara to navigate on the return trip, which means she has time to think about what they just saw.

“Do you think he saw us?”

“Which one?” Hannah asks, keeping her eyes fixed on the road.

“Jacob.”

“I don’t think so, why?”

“Just...a feeling.” Sara mumbles, sinking down further into her seat.

When they get cell reception again Sara’s phone vibrates with a message from Alex. She sums it up for Hannah “He and Mark are at that food truck stop we passed coming up. He said we could meet there and go over what we found out.” Despite knowing the answer she asks Hannah, “You need me to navigate?”

“I’m good.” Hannah reaches down to the radio and turns the volume knob until it clicks and it comes on. The local channels consist of country, country, more country, or a lone station in the Whitetail’s that played some decent alternative music. The further they get the worse the reception seems to be so Sara takes over channel hopping.

She lands on something unexpected. Not quite country, it sounds more like gospel. A woman is crooning about getting help from faith, being guided and shielded.

“They have their own radio station.” Hannah rolls her eyes, “You’re kidding me.”

Sara stares at the radio, “I mean there’s televangelists that have their own TV shows or cable networks. Plenty of religious radio stations exist, it may not be theirs.” Hannah glances over at her, one eyebrow quirked, but she stays quiet which encourages Sara to keep talking. “Even if it is theirs, it’s not like that weird of a thing. Especially if they’re as big as they seem to be here.”

Hannah doesn’t say anything, and they both stay quiet while the song plays out fading into the next song that is instrumental without any vocals to accompany it. Sara thinks it sounds kind of peaceful. Hannah though, reaches out to rotate the volume back down, turning the radio off.

“It’s giving me the creeps.”

They pull into an open parking spot beside Mark’s truck. Alex is standing at the window for ordering food, talking with well, all Sara could see was a beard, but he seemed to be having a good time. Mark is leaning against his truck, watching them get out of the car and walk over.

“I tried to tell him we should go to the restaurant. At least you know it’s venison you’re eating there.” Mark sounds apologetic about it and Hannah’s lips twitch, fighting a smile when she asks,

“What?”

“Chad Wolanski runs the Grill Steak. It’s a restaurant, but he also has this food truck side business. This place has a whole range of food. Mostly the local wildlife but I didn’t know if y’all would want to even try that.” He seems more embarrassed the longer he talks, “Now I’m realizing that makes it sound like I think you’re city slickers or something or too good for it but that’s not it, really.”

During his explanation Sara had lifted a hand to her mouth, covering the grin and trying to muffle some of the giggles to follow. “Mark, it’s fine, really.” She manages to get a few words out.

“Can’t be any worse than some of the places we ate at on the road.” Hannah sums up with a shrug of one shoulder.

Mark seems to shrink a little, still embarrassed as he gestures at one of the covered outdoor tables for them to go take a seat at. There are four water bottles set up already with some condiments. Alex waits patiently for their food, giving a wave from where he stands beside the truck. Sara, Hannah and Mark all return it.

“How’d your day go?” Sara asks, rolling her eyes at Alex when he gives two thumbs up after his enthusiastic waving.

“Not great.” Mark admits and he looks defeated. “Alex saw the sheriff, he can tell you more about it, but what’s worse is he saw John Seed again.” Every time Mark says ‘John Seed’ it sounds like he’s having to bite the words out, force them through his throat and out his mouth.

“He what?” Hannah glances from Mark over to where Alex is beginning to balance trays of food on his arms. They should probably go help but it’s more entertaining to watch him struggle with the balancing act of 4 trays of food with only two arms.

“Yeah they had a conversation. I didn’t hear it and Alex didn’t say what went down but, he knows who he is, or at least his first name.”

“What the shit?” Sara asks, her brows coming together and shoulders tensing at the new information.

“Alright I got us mixed meat plates. It’s uh...elk? Boar? It’s food.” Alex announces, sliding each plate to its designated recipient before sitting down beside Mark. Hannah is directly across from him and Sara to his diagonal. They’re all staring at him and he frowns, asking, “What?”

“John Seed is what.” Sara grouses.

“Oh, _that_.” Alex sighs, “So much for enjoying the mystery meat.” Mark grimaces at his food but gingerly spears a carrot and opts for eating that first.

“Yeah, he came by the sheriff’s office just as I was leaving. The sheriff gave me jack squat by the way. Other than there’s something going down, and it looked like the deputies were looking into missing people. On the way out John stopped me, asked me why I was there, offered his services as a lawyer and then said it was good to meet me.” Alex sums it up while twirling his plastic spoon through the creamed spinach on his own plate.

“That sounds...Not so bad?” Sara sounds uncertain, glancing between Mark and Alex.

“You don’t _get it_.” Mark mumbles to which Alex gives him a reassuring shoulder bump.

“Vibe checked, John didn’t pass.” Alex says with a smile but that puts Sara less at ease than it would a stranger. She can tell when he’s joking to lessen the tension or keep them from worrying. “He just has this way of talking. Anyway when I left he called out my name, and I never gave it to him.” No one moves at the table. Mark is glaring at his food while Hannah and Sara stare at Alex.

“How did he-?” Hannah begins.

“Someone told him.” Alex finishes.

They slowly pick at their food, which is pretty delicious, but conversation is otherwise nonexistent. At one point Chad, the owner walks over to talk with them. Sara stares blankly at him because what just came out of the man’s mouth could not be words, and Hannah seems as lost as she is.

“It was great, thanks. We’ll have to visit your stone and mortar place.” Alex easily picks up the conversation which has even Mark giving him a wide eyed stare. Chad says something else that’s indecipherable to Sara save for the word ‘help’ but Alex waves him off, “We’ll clean up.”

Only when Chad is out of earshot does Hannah give him a light kick under the table to his shins, “So you’re fluent in five languages then?”

Alex blinks, confused by the question. He was fluent in four languages not five. Hannah laughs outright at him and Sara has to contain her laughter to answer, “German, Hebrew, Yiddish, English, and whatever that man speaks.”

“You couldn’t understand him?” Alex seems genuinely perplexed and the moment is lightened, with everyone, even Mark laughing as Alex tries to justify himself and how if they _just listened_ it wasn’t that hard. It sends Hannah into another fit of laughter and Sara has to walk away because she keeps getting a giggle attack whenever she looks at Alex and his confused expression.

Once everyone regains some semblance of composure they sit back down at the table and it’s Hannah and Sara’s turn to recount their day which was much more eventful than Alex and Mark’s. When they mention Mark’s ranger friend he looks upset, but doesn’t say anything.

“-And then we drove here and met up with you two.” Hannah finishes the story, the two of them taking turns as they told it.

Alex had taken the go-pro from Sara and started uploading the video footage to his phone while they talked. It finally transferred so he started watching it with Mark on their side of the table. “That’s Eli Palmer.” Mark points at a guy on the screen with a military jacket and an impressive beard.

“His son died a couple years ago and his wife...Well, their marriage didn’t survive it.” Mark looks guilty about having said so, like he doesn’t enjoy spreading gossip. “He and Jacob used to be friends, but things got tense between them.”

“Like the preacher guy and Joseph?” Alex prompts to which Mark nods.

“How do you know that?” Sara questions him, and Mark smiles, a partial expression that doesn’t reach his eyes before answering,

“Small communities tend to be like that. No one’s business is private.”

“Great.” Hannah sighs. "I love tiny towns." 

They watch to the end of the video with Alex pausing it and then going back a few seconds.

“He saw you.”

“What?” Hannah asks, sitting straighter while Sara seems to go pale.

“Jacob Seed looked right directly at your hiding spot.” Alex turns the phone around so the screen is facing them and Sara elbows Hannah, but doesn’t say ‘I told you so’.

The mountain air seems colder than it did before, and there are people starting to arrive at the food stop. The evening rush probably so Alex starts to clear their table.

“Okay let’s call it a night. Tomorrow we’re going to a Sunday potluck-” Mark snorts and Alex points at him before justifying his decision with, “hey it’s a good place to get information and Nancy is expecting us.”

Sara mouths ‘who’s Nancy?’ to Hannah and she shrugs in reply.

“We’ll do some recon there and give you a call when we’re done.” Alex sums up.

Mark catches the eye of someone who had just parked and starts walking his way. “Okay see y’all tomorrow then maybe?” Mark asks and Alex nods.

“Oh!” Sara holds a hand out, “Wait up, Mark – do you know a woman named Tammy?”

Mark shakes his head, “Not really, but her husband uh, his name is Mark too. He joined the cult just like Linny did.” Then he waves at a man in a blue hoodie and walks the final stretch of distance to him where they shake hands. A couple of other men in flannel join the group, dressed in overalls and some with their hardhats looped onto their belt. They must work nearby at a mill or factory of some sort. 

The trio get into their car with Hannah driving, Alex in the passenger and Sara in the back once more. No one says anything. The sun is setting and casting the valleys in golden light that seems almost too serene and beautiful to be real, it's the kind of scenic picture set as someone's wallpaper in an office job or painted by Bob Ross. Not real life.

They’re nearing the turn off for the hot springs when Alex breaks the silence,

“Do we need to make something for the potluck?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY I FORGOT TO UPDATE LAST WEEK! Holy moly life has been busy. I'm very sorry, school and life has been hectic. Apologies, but thank you for reading this if you are. I appreciate the heck out of it.


	8. Rumors and Boomers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With their presence now known in Hope County, the trio set off to attend a Sunday potluck and make headway on their investigation, and Mark gives them a lead to follow.

The danger in going from one job to the next, back to back meant that some things hadn’t been packed that they might end up needing. For example, Sara found out the second she took a shower that she’d left her anti-frizz serum back in Philadelphia, so now she was in a battle with the Montana summer heat that was wreaking havoc on her blonde curls. Hannah forgot the cord for charging her phone and now had to borrow one of Alex’s (many) extras. As for Alex? Well, Alex had decided to bring a total of one change of clothes and the change was so miniscule as to resemble the exact same outfit he’d had on the day before. Two v-neck shirts, one grey, the other white with two different plaid flannel shirts and two pairs of denim jeans. He realized the error of his ways when getting dressed for the potluck that Sunday afternoon.

“Really, Alex?” Sara gives him an exasperated look, “Again?”

This was not the first time he’d packed so few clothes and it probably wouldn’t be the last. He scratches at the minimal amount of facial hair on his chin and then smiles at Sara, trying for endearing but judging by the way her eyes narrow, he falls way short of it.

“They take up too much room.” He defends his packing choices.

“You brought three camcorders and two laptops.” Hannah points out helpfully from where she’s brushing her hair into a slick ponytail, twisting it into a tight bun that makes her look like a model.

“Backups!” Alex exclaims and then throws his hands up in frustration. “I didn’t think I’d be attending church by proxy alright? I’d have brought my synagogue best if I did.” He settles for the flannel that didn’t have a hole worn into one of the sleeves.

Aside from the frizzy hair (that Sara was valiantly trying to French braid), she was dressed in floral shorts and a blue blouse that when paired with a white denim jacket had her looking ready for a fancy Sunday afternoon. Then again she could dress in about anything and make it look nice. She’d taken it upon herself to try and update Alex’s thrifted wardrobe, but to no avail.

Hannah had a black leotard on with high rise khaki slacks that cinched in at her ankles and her signature green military jacket. It was more casual than Sara, but she still looked more formal than Alex. It was definitely the flannel’s fault but he’d never say so aloud.

“We’re tourists so they shouldn’t be expecting us to have nice clothes anyway.” Alex makes the excuse while he sets up his hidden cam in the usual pocket, adjusting it until Sara tells him it’s good. Then he sits down on the edge of one of the beds and takes out his phone, scrolling through some of the documents he’s made about their case so far. They’re organized into different folders, one for each Seed sibling, one for Mark and Linny, another for the police department, one for Anna slash the hotel and a general miscellaneous folder. He’s trying to make individual storage spots for each person they meet or important places they come across. It helps keep his thoughts coherent, which has been harder than it should be. Hope County is already overwhelming him.

While he reads, the girls finish getting ready. They’ve got some time to kill since the church service just ended at 1:30 and the official potluck started at 2:00. All of this came from Mark who had been to his fair share of the events. He won’t be attending today’s though. Since Linny had joined the Project he'd pulled away from most of the community and stopped going to any of the potlucks on the off-chance one of the Project’s people would be there. Which apparently wasn’t that uncommon.

“Maybe we should go early and get a look at the place?” Sara suggests as she slips an elastic tie over the tail end of her hair.

“I have a feeling Nancy won’t give us a chance if she spots us.” Alex mumbles, half-paying attention to the conversation as he reads up on John Duncan.

“I’m interested in meeting this Nancy. From what you’ve said so far it sounds like you’ve met your match.” Sara walks over and sits down beside him, elbowing his side gently when she doesn’t get a reaction from him. “You okay?”

He grunts an affirmative but doesn’t look away from his phone. Sara leans back around his hunched form, making eye contact with Hannah who seems equally concerned.

“There’s such a thing as getting your head _too_ in the game.” Hannah walks over and takes a seat on his other side, snatching his phone out of his hands to see what he was reading.

“Hey, rude.” Alex doesn’t sound upset though and Hannah holds him at bay with one hand on his head, forcing him over and onto Sara who loops her arms around his neck in a mock wrestling hold.

Hannah locks his phone and slips it into one of the pockets on her jacket. “I’ll hold onto this for you. You can get it back later, but for now we’re going to go to the potluck and you’re going to focus on people other than John Duncan, Seed, whatever his last name is.” She stands up and Sara lets go of Alex, who hadn’t put up a fight but does look a little dejected at the loss of his phone.

“You know I’ve got a second phone right?” Alex asks.

“I do and I know you won’t take it out for fear of angering me.” Hannah replies, confident enough to walk towards the door without looking back at him to make sure he didn’t check his backup phone.

Alex grumbles to himself as he follows after both Hannah and Sara, all nonsensical mumblings, but it’s the emotion behind the mumbling that matters more than the words. They hear Anna at the front desk talking to someone and when they come around the corner that someone turns out to be Sparky. They’re deep in a conversation, with words like ‘spirits’ and ‘energy waves’ particularly emphasized. The ghost hunter doesn’t even notice the trio as they approach the front doors, but Anna does and she excuses herself to give them a wave farewell.

“Y’all have fun at the potluck. Word of advice though, only take a little of everything otherwise you won’t be able to try it all.”

“Potluck?” Sparky asks, finally turning to look at them.

“Mhm the town does it every Sunday for church services. Wish I didn’t work days so I could make it but I’ve got the 4th of July off!” Anna says, drawing Sparky’s attention back to her and allowing the three of them to make their escape before they get dragged into a conversation that will make them late.

“Seeya Anna.” Alex says with a wave to which she smiles brightly at him before focusing on Sparky. He’s practically draping himself over the front counter as he talks to her and Alex mentally wishes him luck because Anna doesn’t seem the slightest bit interested in him or his ghost stories.

Alex hops into the driver seat to take them to Fall's End with Sara in the passenger and Hannah taking the backseat for this ride. Sara rolls down her window and leans back in her seat, smiling with her eyes shut as the wind blows through her hair. Hannah does the same in the back and Alex hums a tune to himself. It’s a nice drive, with him almost able to forget where they were and why they were there. Just three friends going on a vacation and enjoying their last summer together before they had to go their separate ways.

He whistles in amazement when he pulls onto the main street going through the town. There’s vehicles parked all around the church and down the street. He opts for parking further out so they can get to their car easier and maybe draw less attention to themselves by walking in closer.

“This place is packed.” Hannah remarks when she rolls up her window, “Like _packed_ packed. We haven’t seen this many people since we got here. Do you think this is everyone in the area?”

“Maybe. I don’t see any Project people, but religion brings folks together.” Sara points out as the three of them close their respective doors and watch the gathering group of people from afar. There are a bunch of them lingering at the front of the church and there seems to be tables and pop-up overhead tents setup near the river on the other side of the building.

“Should we split up?” Alex asks as they walk towards the church, “Easier to get information and we’re all in the same area.”

“You just want your phone back.” Hannah gives Alex a sly look but reaches into her pocket and hands it over to him, “But I think it’s a good idea.” She glances over to Sara who gives a nod of agreement. People are trickling in, arriving at the potluck a little late like they did. They’ve barely stepped foot off of the pavement and onto the grass when someone turns and recognizes them, or specifically, Alex.

“Tourist! Nancy said you’d be here.” It’s Deputy Pratt. He’s dressed in very similar looking dark denim jeans, but he has a nice button down shirt on instead of his uniform.

“Deputy Pratt, uh, she did?” Alex asks, trying to keep his voice low so as not to draw more attention than they already had. The deputy walks over to intercept them, his eyes jumping from Alex to Hannah and then Sara. He smiles at them both, lips pressed together. Hannah and Sara have their best poker faces on, although both are thinking about the boat from the other day and the stand-off at the river in the mountains.

“She sure did. Gotta say I didn’t think you’d take to country life so fast, where is it you said you’re from?” He folds his arms in front of his chest, hip cocked to one side as he lays on the nice neighbor shtick and Sara, bless her, steps in.

“I’m from Philadelphia and my name’s Sara. Alex didn’t say he got to talk to a deputy the other day.” She smiles, and Pratt’s attention shifts from Alex to her and his entire demeanor seems to change with it. "It's nice to meet you...?"

“Deputy Pratt but you can call me Staci, welcome to Fall’s End.” He offers a hand and she takes it.

“Thanks! Alex mentioned something about a potluck and it sounded like a nice way to spend a Sunday.”

“Beats mass at the cathedral.” Hannah comments in a deadpan voice from beside Alex and Staci’s focus shifts from Sara to her.

“Catholic?” He asks, and he sounds sympathetic.

“Born and raised.” She says, head tilting to one side. “You?”

“My mama definitely tried with the raising.” Staci jokes with a grin.

“God willing she’ll get through to you again one day.” A man with a deep voice says from behind the deputy, stepping up beside him. Judging by the white collar at his neck, this is Pastor Jerome.

Alex’s eyes had been wandering while Hannah and Sara handled Pratt. They had both managed to connect with him so he'd let his friends handle the deputy. He’s not sure how but Hannah had a sixth sense for fellow former Catholics and Sara’s smile could melt ice, they had it covered. There are a lot of people wandering around, gathering in small groups and conversing with most of them none too subtly glancing over at them.

He spots Nancy who gives him a hearty wave from where she’s sitting beneath one of the popup tents.

Alex had zoned out of the conversation that had taken place beside him, only jolted out of his assessment of the area when Hannah lightly shoulder checks him. He glances back over to find everyone looking at him and he blinks. “Sorry, I was distracted by, well, everything.”

The pastor – father? Priest? Whatever he is, smiles warmly, “It’s alright, there’s a lot going on.” He looks around at the congregation, most of which don’t bother hiding their stares when the priest glances their way. “Hope County is a tightknit community, they turn out for one another.” He has a small hint of a smile, some pride in his flock before looking back at Alex. “I was merely asking if you’d be interested in a tour of the place since we didn’t see you at service.”

“Uh-” Alex flounders for a moment and the priest laughs, “I’m teasing.”

A sigh of relief follows and Alex slips easily into the conversation, “Sure. The only time I’ve been inside a church was for a funeral when I was a kid.” The priest tilts his head with a bemused look and Staci outright laughs.

“Jewish.” Alex explains, sounding a little desperate. “I went to services, just not Christian ones. Stop laughing.” Sara had covered her mouth to contain her laughter. Hannah merely shook her head at him. Of all the people to admit being a nonbeliever to he had to go and confess it out in the open of rural Montana to a Catholic Priest. Unbelievable.

“I’m going to check out the food, if that’s alright? We skipped lunch and I’m starving.” Sara finds a way to politely excuse herself and Pastor Jerome gestures in the direction of the tables of prepared dishes. “Of course, help yourself. There’s always more than enough.”

Hannah and Staci have managed to settle into some kind of conversation with her mentioning the military and him getting excited about pilots. Alex shrugs at the pastor, priest – he really should ask, and the man shrugs back. There are a fair share of lingering looks as Alex and the pastor walk side by side in the direction of the church, but since the pastor isn’t paying them any mind then Alex won’t either.

“Deputy Pratt called you a tourist, but I doubt that’s your name.” The pastor breaks the silence and opens the whitewashed door to his church. The interior is something straight out of a book. Wood paneling, big arched windows with a pulpit inset at the back where there’s a smaller room off the main worship area that's packed with pews. The afternoon sun shines through the windows that have been opened to allow a breeze and it leaves imprints of light on the floorboards.

Alex has to force himself to focus on the pastor rather than the serene feeling inside the space.

“Alex. And you’re Pastor Jeffries I take it?” The pastor walks towards the pulpit and Alex falls a few paces behind, running one hand over the back of a pew.

“Pastor Jerome is fine, or just Jerome if it makes you uncomfortable.” It's a nice gesture but Alex shakes his head.

“I don’t mind. Even if I’m not big on religion anymore I still call someone by their vocation.”

“Oh?” Jerome pauses at the pulpit and turns around to look back at Alex who had come to a stop in the middle of the church, feet at the edge of a sunbeam.

“It’s the polite thing to do. Also sorry for dropping in unannounced. We only found out about this yesterday.” He spots a bible left on the pew beside him and leans over to pick it up, walking over to hold it out for Jerome to take.

The pastor does reach out and take the bible from him, eyes lingering on it and then he sets it atop the podium.

“All are welcome here. Also it was hardly unannounced. Nancy gave me full warning of your coming ahead of time.” Jerome smiles and Alex cringes. “She means well. She also said you were writing an article about Hope County.”

What _hadn’t_ she told everyone? Alex wraps the fingers of one hand around the wrist of his other and nods.

“Yeah we’re online journalists. I try to check in with the local PD before we start filming especially when we’re in rural areas to be safe. I didn’t think the whole town would know,” Alex says with a sigh.

Jerome laughs, and it’s a warm sound, the kind that comes unhindered and without any hesitation.

“Welcome to Hope County.” Then his mood turns somber and Alex feels like he’s a kid again when the pastor looks at him like that. It harkens back to meetings with the rabbi when he’d gotten in trouble and had to have discussions about his actions. Jerome turns and walks towards the smaller backroom of the church which has a bowl probably used for holy water or something, and Alex follows because that feels like the right move. “I felt it my duty to warn you and your friends, especially if you plan on staying here for long.”

Oh, this was an interesting turn of events. All his attention is centered on the pastor now.

“The Project?” Alex guesses and the pastor arches one eyebrow from behind his glasses.

“So you know?” The pastor doesn’t sound surprised.

“It might be why we came here.” Alex admits.

“Thank the Lord.” The pastor exhales and walks closer so they can speak quietly to one another. There’s no one else in the church but Alex supposes hushed whispers suit the space at the moment. “We need to get the word out about what Joseph has done. People have been led astray by that man and it’s only going to get worse.”

Alex squints at him, confused, “We came here to help get someone’s family member back, but everyone we meet seems to be in the same situation.” Jerome gestures for him to follow and so he does, into another room that has a desk and a small computer along with a bunch of books and a bible. It must be the pastor’s office. He sits down and Alex does the same in a chair nestled against the wall beside a bookshelf.

“I’m not surprised. Joseph has convinced many that his falsehoods are the truth, and told people what they want to hear in order to garner their trust.” Jerome sighs and takes off his glasses for a moment to run a hand across his face before settling them atop his nose once more.

“Why are you telling me this?” Alex asks, genuinely baffled.

“Because I can tell you’re a good person Alex. You traveled here to help someone you don’t even know,” the suspicious look on Alex’s face only strengthens to which Jerome adds, “and Mark told me.”

“Ah ha the truth comes out.” He grins and Jerome lifts a hand, one finger raised.

“Just because I had forewarning doesn’t make what I said any less true. You care and that means more than you realize, especially here.” He turns around, “Just a moment,” and opens a drawer of his desk, rooting around for a bit before he pulls out a notebook, “I’m not sure if this will be of any use to you but here.” He extends his arm and Alex takes the notebook, opening it to a random page packed elegant scrawling script.

_The Voice has given signs that it is time to establish our own church and with it I must say goodbye to my friend but it is now that the truth shall be beholden…_

“What is it?” He asks, glancing up at Jerome.

“Joseph left it for me, in hopes that I’d convert and follow his madness I suspect. I’ve already read it. Perhaps a journalist will see something I did not. Other than the ramblings of a man I thought to be a friend.”

Alex slips it into the inside pocket of his shirt, the one he’d meticulously sewn in so he could store things there. Mostly snacks, but it worked for investigations too.

“I know you just explained why you trust me but this is a lot of trust.” Alex shouldn’t be trying to undermine himself, but he’s wary of taking this at face value, “Didn’t you trust Joseph too? What makes this any different?”

Jerome’s smile is sad this time, and after taking a few moments to think about that he answers, “I did trust him. He needed help and I offered it freely. You don’t come to me with honeyed words seeking refuge. You spoke honestly, outside the house of God and within.” That sounds a lot like a compliment to Alex and he fidgets, uncertain of how to take that. Jerome seems to pick up on it and slaps his hands atop his thighs before standing. “Well, now that that’s out of the way I should let you enjoy the potluck,” he opens the door to the worship space and pauses, “although I doubt you came here for fun.”

Slowly, Alex stands up and trails after the pastor, smiling when Jerome deduces that they’d come here for the investigation and not the local cuisine.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Jerome reassures him as they approach the front door of the church, “but take care, especially concerning Joseph’s siblings.” At the threshold he holds out an arm and settles a hand on one of Alex’s shoulders, eyes meeting his with a grave intensity to them. “I don’t believe Joseph would truly mean harm to someone, even if his preaching’s are enabling the harm he believes he’s helping. His family is snakes and willing to use their venom, especially Faith.”

“Faith?” Alex probably looks as confused as he feels and Jerome stiffens.

“Ah. You’ve not met her. His adoptive sister, she was once Rachel Jessop. Her family lived here.” Jerome explains.

“Lived, as in past tense?” Alex seeks clarification and the look Jerome gives him answers that question, “Got it.”

“Be careful who you trust here and try not to get caught up in the wave that is Joseph Seed. He’ll drag you under and you may not be able to come up for air.” It’s the final warning Jerome gives before swinging the door inward and stepping out into the warm Montana sunlight.

It takes Alex a few moments to recover from that ominous _as fuck_ conversation, but when he does he closes the door behind him and walks down the steps, mind stuck inside those whitewashed walls while his body moved on autopilot. His feet lead him to a bench on the other side of the church. It's beneath a tree that offers a decent bit of shade. There’s no one on this side of the property, and it gives him a few minutes to gather his thoughts.

The roar of an engine snaps him back to the present and he glances up, watching as a white truck with a black cross drives past on the main road, slowing to a stop in front of a storefront. A group of people get out and go inside, none of them look armed from where he’s sitting but it’s hard to tell. Alex stands up and starts walking in that direction –

“Boomer, don’t you do it!” A woman shouts and Alex barely has any time to respond before a blur of black and white darts in front of him and then tucks tail and launches at him. Perhaps launch is an overstatement but the dog leaps with its back legs and he instinctively holds his arms out to catch it.

Within seconds he had gone from actively scouting out the project to his arms being filled with a fairly heavy cattle dog.

“Oh I am _so_ sorry!” That same woman’s voice as she rounds the corner. She’s got dark blonde hair cut in a bob around her chin and has a black halter top on along with dark jeans. “He must’ve heard something and come runnin’ to see.” She slows to a jog and stops in front of the pair, arms on her hips as she gives the dog a disapproving look. “Boomer you know better than to go jumpin’ into stranger’s arms.”

The dog, Boomer apparently, whines and _licks_ the side of Alex’s face. He laughs and leans down to set Boomer back on the ground. The moment his four paws meet dirt he sits down and looks for all the world like a well-behaved champion dog that hadn’t just launched himself at Alex.

“I swear he usually does better but he got all riled up and wanted to play.” She explains, hands on her hips as she tries to frown down at Boomer but she can’t seem to maintain the irritation.

Alex gives the dog a scratch at the back of his neck, smiling, “No hard feelings. I’m just glad I didn’t drop him.” Boomer barks, as though he too was glad not to be dropped and the woman rolls her eyes, smiling now.

“Well thank you for not holding a grudge against me or my badly behavin’ dog. I’m Rae-Rae that’s Boomer, and we were just leavin’ but he had to get into trouble one more time before we left apparently.” Boomer’s ears droop, pushed back against his skull like he could understand and Rae-Rae gestures back the direction she came, “C’mon let’s go you troublemaker.” Boomer takes off like a bullet and Rae-Rae waves over one shoulder, “Thanks!”

Alex doesn’t wave back since she wouldn’t see it but does shout back, “No problem!” And then they’re gone. He rubs at his face to try and wipe the remaining dog slobber off. That had definitely improved his mood. Never having a pet as a kid meant he took every chance he could to pet and interact with animals as an adult. He’d been so distracted by Boomer that he’d forgotten about the project’s truck. When he turns they’re already loading up and leaving. Ah well, impromptu dog hug was a nice break from sneaking after the project’s people.

He turns around and heads back around the church, returning to the gathering. Most everyone seems to have gotten a plate of food and as he scans the crowd he spots Sara talking amongst a small group of people and Hannah appears to have integrated into another with Staci Pratt. For the second time that day he’s left thinking about how nice this could be. A roadtrip where they stumbled upon a small community that welcomed them with open arms and open kitchens. He smiles when Sara laughs at something, the sound carrying over the other conversations taking place.

It’s nice watching from the outside in like this and observing everything. Alex had always been able to weave his way through different social groups and gather people to him. He didn’t try to gain popularity but it seemed to fall into his lap regardless, so he never really found time to just breathe. It’s not something he’d ever complain about, but it made him appreciate moments like this all the more.

He notices someone walking towards him and once she’s within reach, Nancy gives him a hug before drawing back, “Oh I’m sorry was that too forward? You just looked lonely over here by your lonesome! C’mon and get some food.” She pats him on the arm and gives him a little push towards the tables where a bunch of food remains. The pastor wasn’t kidding when he said there’d be leftovers. There’s different kinds of grilled meat, salads, what looks like fish, a bunch of vegetables including corn on the cob and further down are the desserts. A bunch of pies and cobblers from what he can see.

A plate is thrust into his hands and Nancy tilts her head at the food, “Go on! I saved you a seat at my table. You like soda, sugar?” Then she laughs at her own joke, and goes to grab him one without Alex having said a single word the entire time.

“Okay then.” He whispers under his breath as he takes a filet of fish along with some cheesy potatoes and only when he sees Hannah watching him does he also put some green beans on his plate. _There, happy?_ Since he already had an assigned seat courtesy of Nancy he walks over to the table she and four other people are seated at. Nancy has an open seat beside her that is meant for him, and on the other side of that chair is a woman in her 70s or 80s maybe, sipping on a glass of what looked like tea. Across from her is an older man, probably the same age as her who was talking with her. Directly opposite his seat is a girl who looks about his age, maybe younger and beside her is a woman who resembles the girl enough to probably be her mom.

“Sit right on down here.” Nancy says when he gets close enough and he does, thanking her as he takes his seat.

“Now this is Alex who I told y’all about, so be nice.” Nancy tells the group.

“Aren’t we always?” The older man asks and then winces. If Alex had to guess he’d assume the woman across from him had just kicked his shin. Introductions are made. The older woman next to him is Beatrice and her husband is across from her, Albert. The teenager’s name is Veronica and it is her aunt, not her mom who sits beside her, named Victoria.

He doesn’t ask about where either of her parents might be, and keeps the conversation light. She’s extremely interested in what life is like outside of Hope County, and Alex is happy to talk about it. She's a junior in high school and looking at colleges, so she's got plenty of questions for him.

“I live in Philadelphia where I work right now. It’s pretty close to New York and the country’s capitol.” Alex says between bites of food, making sure he chews and swallows before trying to have any kind of conversation. Long-time polite habits that had been drilled into him at fancy restaurants were paying off, _finally_.

“Is the city scary?” Veronica asks, her big blue eyes somehow getting bigger and Alex shakes his head, grinning.

“Nah, it’s different that’s for sure and takes some getting used to but it’s neat to have everything within walking distance, and I really like the museums.” That topic gets Albert’s attention and he starts talking about the museums he got to see when he was enlisted in the military and got stationed around the world.

He’s grateful for the change in conversation so that someone else can talk for a while. It’s hard to talk about himself without giving too much information away and he’d never been good at lying. Alex takes the opportunity to finish eating his food and then gathers up the other empty plates to go and toss them in the garbage bin. Nancy thanks him, calling him ‘sweetie’ again and he finally breathes once he’s able to step away from the table. He drops the pile of plates into the trash then walks back over to the table and sits back down. Albert is still talking about the art he’d seen in his lifetime thankfully and Victoria excuses both her and Veronica, citing that they need to get back home before it gets too late.

“It was nice to meet you both.” Alex says as a farewell and Victoria returns the sentiment while Veronica asks him to come back next week so she can hear more about the city. He glances at her aunt who doesn’t seem bothered by it and he says, “Sure, if we’re still around.” The teen loses some of her steam, looking upset about the possibility.

“We ought to get going too.” Beatrice stands up.

“Without dessert?” Albert asks and he gets a sharp look, “Right, diabetes.” He sighs heavily, appearing put out but then winks at both Alex and Nancy who are the only two to remain. Alex watches the couple walk towards their vehicle, arm in arm.

“It sure was sweet of you to indulge Veronica like that. She grew up here and has dreams of the city and college there.” Nancy takes the napkin out of her lap and folds it. “I only hope things settle down out there before she goes.”

 _What does she mean by that?_ Alex turns to face her. She’s nervously folding the napkin into smaller sections, “Settle down?”

Her fingers still momentarily, “Oh you know what you hear on the news nowadays? Droughts in the Midwest, Russia makin’ threats and our, well, leader,” she pauses and gives Alex a knowing look which he returns, “ _you know_.”

Oh, he knew, most definitely, and he grimaces in sympathy. “The world’s always going through some stuff, but who knows what tomorrow will bring, right?” Alex smiles but Nancy looks even sadder somehow.

“Oh sugar, that’s nice of you to say. I hope so too.” And then she pats the back of his arm before getting up. “I’m gonna go grab a slice of pie and check in with some of the ladies from small group. You go and make friends now!” Then Nancy is up and gone, leaving Alex with thoughts of how bad things were globally. He’s slated to travel to Moscow once summer is over for the show, so he hopes that the government doesn’t shut down travel between the US and Russia by then.

A plate with a heaping pile of what looks like apple pie is dropped in front of him, followed by Sara and Hannah sitting down to his left and right, respectively.

“Pastor Jerome seems nice.” Sara starts the conversation before spearing a cherry on her own plate.

“Yeah lots to share there.” Alex murmurs before using the side of his fork to cut off a piece of pie to eat, “Learn anything interesting about the deputy?” He asks Hannah who had foregone dessert and was merely watching the two of them get their sugar fix.

“Other than he’s a helicopter pilot for the department and training a rookie right now and did I mention he flies a helicopter?” Hannah’s voice is monotone and pitched in a way that implies boredom, “No, although the helicopter thing was actually kind of cool. We’re going to go out for drinks sometime.” She says it so casually that both Sara and Alex stop eating to stare at her.

“Hannah…” Sara begins, and Alex finishes, “Does he know you’re uh, not into guys?”

She stares at them, “It’s not a date.”

They don’t look convinced.

“It’s _not a date_.”

“Okay.” It doesn’t sound like either of them believes her and she glances over towards the deputy who’s talking with Jerome now, a hint of worry on her face.

“Is it a date?” She asks, glancing back at them and Sara solemnly nods.

“Afraid so, but hey good luck with that.” Alex says around a mouthful of pie before finger gunning her with the hand that isn’t holding onto his fork. “Worst case scenario it’s awkward, best case scenario you made a new friend.”

“Alex,” Hannah begins, her voice flat, “you’ve literally never been on a date in your entire life.”

He barely swallows a mouthful of pie without choking from laughing. Sara helpfully pats him on the back as he works his way through not inhaling his food. He coughs a few times, covering his mouth with a napkin as he hunches over the table.

“Okay you got me there, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He takes a drink from the coca-cola Nancy had set down for him earlier to help clear the crumbs from his throat, “Besides it’s always a good idea to make friends with the cops.” Alex scrapes what remains of the pie off of his plate and onto Sara’s who makes a sound of protest. “How long should we stay at this thing?” He asks, leaning back and looking around. There’s still a decent number of people hanging around, talking with one another.

“I’m good to go whenever. I didn’t get much from the people I talked to but it sounds like you did from the pastor.” Sara picks at the pie Alex set on her plate, ignoring the pastry and spooning out the filling to eat. “I’d kind of like to touch base with Mark too.”

“Let’s head back to the hotel and take it easy for the rest of the night.” Hannah suggests and Alex readily agrees, gathering up the plate of unfinished pie from Sara to go and throw out. Sara protests but it’s half-hearted. She’d already had her fill and then some. The sugar crash would be coming soon and she wanted to be close to a bed when it hit.

Hannah goes to say goodbye to the deputy and Sara walks back to the car, hands in the pockets of her jacket. Alex goes to find Pastor Jerome, and after some meandering around he spots him standing off by himself, staring out at the river. He seems to be contemplating something, and Alex doesn’t want to interrupt him but he also wants to get back to the hotel sometime that evening.

“Pastor Jerome,” he stays a little ways back, and only when the pastor turns his head to acknowledge him does he walk closer so they're standing next to one another, “we’re going to head back to the hotel, but I wanted to stop and say thanks. For the hospitality, and everything really.”

The pastor makes a humming sound in his throat, like he’s thinking of what to say before he does. “You’re always welcome back, for whatever reason,” he looks from the river to Alex, “I hope you know that.” And the funny thing is, Alex does know that, intrinsically. It was a welcome space. 

“Sure.” Alex mentally kicks himself for that response, but Jerome doesn’t seem to take it personally. He nods and bids him a good evening. Taking that as his cue, Alex starts walking back to the spot where they’d parked. Sara’s already leaning against the front bumper, eyes closed and head tilted back as the breeze picks up. He mimics the pose beside her, arms folded in front of his chest. “You doing okay?” He asks, partially to fill the silence, but mostly because he was wondering about her.

She cracks open one eye, “Really? You’re worried about me?” Sara questions him, but it sounds rhetorical so he doesn’t answer. “I’m worried about _you_.” She sidesteps to stand closer to him, their sides brushing, and Alex automatically wraps an arm around her shoulders. As the sun dipped lower and lower, so did the temperature. “You’ve not been sleeping much since we got here and you’re two energy drinks away from conspiracy pin board levels of research.”

Alex thinks to himself about that, and yeah, honestly, she wasn’t wrong.

Hope County had gotten under his skin and been working its way deeper towards his bones. The need to get to the bottom of what was happening and help people like Lila, and Mark was overwhelming. It didn’t help that John Seed was the kind of person he wanted to take down a notch too. It was a knee-jerk reaction the moment he’d heard him talking and seen how he acted. Alex drums his fingers against her shoulder while thinking of how to explain to Sara why this was so important to him. It was their last job together and after that it’d be the end of the trio’s era. Sure, they’d still be friends, but they wouldn’t be _investigative journalist_ friends who traveled the country and had the kind of freedom most people dream of. It was a lot of work, but Alex wouldn’t trade it for the world. He knew that this was the kind of thing he would remember fondly when he was older. How he got to experience so much at such a young age and that he had two best friends along for the ride.

If they were going to be done after this then he wanted to end it right. That meant giving it everything he’s got.

“Look,” he begins, voice quiet, “I think I’m really bummed about this being our last job.” The confession isn’t what he’d planned on making but it slips past his lips anyway. “Focusing on Mark, on connecting the dots for what’s happening here is keeping me from accepting that once we go back to Philadelphia to post our results…it’s over.” His chin dips towards his chest as he talks, “And once it’s over this is a chapter closed in the book of our lives. It was a really good chapter too,” A sad chuckle follows, “See? This is why I don’t talk about it. I get all nostalgic for something that hasn’t even ended yet. That makes zero sense.”

Sometime in the middle of his rambling, Sara had slipped an arm around his midsection and hugged him from the side, resting her head on his shoulder.

“It makes a lot of sense,” she sniffles, “because I’ve been feeling the same.”

“Really?” He asks, trying to look down at her, but he can only see the crown of her head.

“Uh huh.” That was _definitely_ a sniffle. Alex pulls Sara into a hug, no more of the side-arm half-hug business but with both arms around her shoulders so she can smother whatever tears she’s got against his shirt.

“It sucks, but we’ll have lots of time to mourn and be sad when we’re editing footage back home.” He pats Sara on the back and she laughs into his shirt.

They stay like that for a little while. Eventually Sara turns her head so she’s got her cheek pressed against his chest rather than her face and the two of them watch Hannah approach from the church’s front yard. She tilts her head at the two of them hugging. Without saying anything she stops beside them both and then hugs the two of them at once. A few seconds go by.

“Okay my arms are starting to cramp.” Alex wiggles his fingers and starts to loosen his grip on Sara but Hannah squeezes them even tighter for a moment and he chokes out the word, “Lungs!”

With her too-tight-for-life squeeze administered, Hannah lets them go and walks over to the driver’s door.

“I missed out on a bonding moment. You can suffer the squeezing for a little while.” Hannah says as she takes her copy of the car keys from her jacket and unlocks the door.

“I like the squeezing, actually.” Sara wipes at her face, her eyes a little red.

“I’m ambivalent on it.” Alex teased before hopping into the passenger seat as Sara climbed into the back so she could stretch out. Hannah pulls out onto the main road, and Alex turns on the radio. It had been left on a station playing some chill instrumental stuff. Hannah glances at the station number and her lips thin, which Alex notices but doesn’t say anything about.

“Leave it on?” Sara asks from the back, and Alex removes his hand from the dial, leaning back in his seat. There’s some singing but the lyrics are hard to make out with the overlaid effect of voices and an echo. It’s easy to let the music wash over them and the vibrations of the road lull them into a sense of calm.

His phone vibrates at almost the exact spot where they turn off the main road and into the good WiFi area, or as good as it gets in Hope County. Alex lifts his hips off of the seat so he can pull it out of his back pocket and check the alert. There are a few, most of them are from Mark.

“Everything good?” Hannah asks when he doesn’t share the messages with them right away.

“Sort of. Mark said there’s going to be some kind of Project sermon tonight and asked if I’d go.” Alex’s brows come together as he tries to make sense of the plan. 

“Just you?” Hannah sounded doubtful about that, and for good reason.

“He said one of us and him, not to actually attend it but to eavesdrop I guess.” Alex reassured her, but Hannah didn’t look happy about it.

“Why not just attend it?” Sara sounds exasperated by the conversation, and tired.

“Not sure, but I can go. You two had a weird day yesterday and I’m kind of on a sugar high right now.” He’s already texting Mark back despite Hannah saying his name, low, in a warning. “It’ll be alright Hannah, I’ll give you two the location of where we’re going and I’ll call Mark to make sure it’s safe.”

“Safe? It’s basically a church service.” Sara protests from the back of the car, throwing her hands up in the air.

Hannah parks the car in its usual spot and turns the engine off, but doesn’t get out. She turns in the seat and watches Alex as he texts, a grave look on her face. His phone rings and he answers it with a, “Hey Mark, yeah I’m in. What time and where?” Alex pops open the glovebox and takes out the notebook they kept in there, writing down the information Mark gives him with a pen. “Okay, got it, sure. I’ll walk down to that dock across from the hotel we’re staying at if you can pick me up in the parking lot there." A pause. "Sounds good, see you soon.”

Sara had already gotten out of the vehicle and started going up the steps into the hotel, disappearing through the door while Alex and Hannah sat in the car together.

“You want to run that by us before you agree to jump in feet first?” She sounds irritated. “We’re a team Alex, you could at the least give us a few minutes to talk about it before you go running into the woods with Mark.” Yep, definitely irritated.

“It’s a good opportunity to get some footage and hear directly from the source.” Alex tries to reason with her, handing over the notebook with the information Mark had given him.

“I’m not saying it isn’t,” Hannah points out, taking the notebook and reading it over, “but it’s shitty to pull that over on us.” The sermon looks to be a few miles away from their hotel along the opposite side of the river and is set to start at sundown.

The reprimand from Hannah isn’t out of line, he should have checked with them before agreeing to Mark’s suggestion, but he had also figured they might shoot it down because it was so short notice. This was the only way around it. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission sometimes.

“I’m going to go in and get one of the handheld cameras. I’ll let Sara know what’s up.” Alex takes the notebook back from Hannah who stares at him with a tensed jaw.

“Alex,” she sighs, and he pauses before closing his door, “just be careful?”

He nods his head then closes the car door so he can go inside and touch base with Sara before he heads out for the night with Mark. Alex steps inside and gives Morgan, the night-shift front desk attendant, a polite 'hello' before heading upstairs. Sara left the door unlocked for him and when he goes into their room he finds her sitting at the desk, typing up some notes from the potluck. As she types he gets his equipment ready and explains the plan to her. She ‘mhms’ and makes other sounds indicating she’s heard him, but otherwise seems focused on the task at hand. Once he’s ready to go he stands up and from the balcony doors he catches sight of Hannah sitting beside the hot springs with her shoes off and her feet dipped in the pool. He considers walking out to shout goodbye to her but they’d already had their conversation and she probably needs the time to herself.

Hannah isn’t much of an extrovert, at all. Sara seems capable of being extroverted or introverted depending on her energy levels, and Alex, well…he was great at faking it. So he understood her need for some peace and quiet after a full day of socializing.

He grabs his jacket on the way out since it’s probably going to get cold and then he goes back out the way he came in, passing the front desk where Morgan seems to have vanished from momentarily. Alex shrugs to himself and walks outside then down the dirt road until he reaches asphalt. It’s technically jaywalking to get from one side of the road to the other but there’s no traffic and he sprints across the pavement, shoes touching the dirt on the other side in record time. There’s a small pull off parking area and some steps in the side of the hill that lead down to a docking area where he’s seen people fishing at when they drove by before.

It’s empty at this time of the evening so he has the area to himself. A few boats are out on the river, passing by without slowing down or giving him a second glance. Some of them have project people in them and others have hunter orange hats and vests.

“Hey.” His mindless moment is interrupted by Mark who waves at him from the top of the steps, “You ready?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some liberties are taken with the general layout of Fall's End and Hope County as a whole, combining in game with Inside Eden's Gate which was filmed in a real town, ergo easier to think about. Anyway sorry again about missing an upload. It's been bananas busy and I keep forgetting to update this. Hopefully this longer chapter makes up for it! The radio is just playing the We Will Rise Again FC5 soundtrack. Those be some good chill songs. Also Jerome is one of my favorites, hands down, in the game.


	9. Have Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Alex go to a late night sermon to see if Linny is around but they get more than they bargained for when it comes to a close.

“So,” Mark begins, eyes flitting between the road and Alex, “how was the potluck?” He’s fishing for something and Alex has an inkling of what it is.

“Pastor Jerome sure seemed...cooperative?” Alex gives him a sidelong look, their eyes meeting briefly and Alex can tell Mark was wondering about that exactly.

“He’s given up on working things out with Joseph and is worried it’s gonna get worse before it gets better, which it is so he ain’t wrong about that.” He folds his left arm on the edge of the open window, a loose grip on the steering wheel with his right hand. “A lot of his people have up and joined the cult, abandoning him when he was the one to give them all a place to worship in the first place.” Mark sounds irritated by it, defensive maybe of the pastor and Alex wonders if he had attended before Linny was taken from him.

For a little while neither of them say anything. Both have their windows down and the air flows through the truck cab, offering some white noise. Alex watches the river below them on the passenger side, a few boats coasting in the middle of it.

“Does the Project usually do evening sermons?” Alex asks, curious about the routine the group had and whether or not it was a well oiled machine or something more haphazard. Given how they seemed to have their own branding he was guessing it to be the former, but a routine definitely would give credence to it being more of a regimented group.

“Yeah, they seem to love sunrises and sunsets. They do a bunch of their ‘baptisms’,” he pauses to lift his hand off the wheel to do air-quotes around the word, “in the evenin’. John especially. Faith does her thing in the afternoons and evenings and Joseph...I dunno man, he does whatever he wants. I’ve seen lights on at their compound at three in the morning sometimes.” Alex whistles, impressed by the guy’s dedication to giving sermons even at three am.

“Yikes, I thought it was rough waking up at 7 for religion.” Alex tries to lighten the mood and it seems to work when he sees Mark smile a little. “Faith was someone that Pastor Jerome mentioned. Said she was Rachel Jessop before?” Mark gives him a funny look when he asks that.

“I mentioned her to you on the phone when we first talked.”

“Really?” Alex wracks his brain trying to remember, and then he does, “Oh shit you were breaking up really bad. Like _really bad_. I think you said her name but we couldn’t hear any of it. I figured we’d cross that bridge when we got there.” He gives a ‘ta da’ gesture, “and now that we’re here I guess that time is now. Tell me what you know.”

“Like the pastor said, she was Rachel before Joseph Seed sunk his claws into her. Her parents own a conservatory in the Henbane area, growing all kinds of herbs and flowers and things like that. Pretty sure one of ‘em had a degree in it and the other was a doctor.”

“Botanist?” Alex interrupts, and Mark shrugs.

“Yeah, I guess. Not sure, but she got into some rough times, don’t really know the whole story but Joseph found her at a low point and then ‘adopted her into his family.” None of what Mark is saying sounds too ominous, and Alex wonders why this story is so shocking. She found a new family. Lots of people did.

“Don’t ask me what happened to the first Faith. I don’t know much other than she went missing.”

Alex blinks, then blinks again. “Sorry, the _first_ Faith? There were others?” What was Mark talking about? How many Faiths had there been and why did they need one to begin with? The more he thought about it the more questions he had concerning what the purpose of having an adopted sister was if you just cycled through them like clothing that goes out of style.

“I know of at least one. She was the first here in Hope County. Came with them from Georgia. We only knew her as Faith. She was tall with long dark hair, real pretty, and kind of eerie. Then one day she disappeared. Rumors were,” a quick look over, “and I don’t believe them necessarily cause they’re only rumors, but the rumors were that her dress washed up one day stained with blood, after she’d gone missing. The police did jack-shit and she hasn’t been seen since.”

It’s really nice of Mark to explain all of this, but Alex can’t help thinking that he’s awful at storytelling. He tends to skip around or start in the middle of a thought. What he can gather from it is that a tall, dark haired woman named Faith came with Joseph Seed and the Project. She then disappeared and according to town gossip her dress had turned up in the river, blood splattered. It sounds like a modern myth or local legend, but given how many people disappeared here and the way in which she was replaced...Alex is willing to consider it a possibility.

“Faith 2.0 then took over her spot?”

Mark snorts, “Faith 2.0, I like that. Yeah Rachel became Faith and started giving her own sort of sermons, same way that John does.” Was everyone in this family some kind of pastor? It doesn’t sound like it. More like they’d decided to start preaching regardless of credentials and were teaching what they’d come up with as far as a doctrine went.

“And this thing tonight is her talking about the Project?”

“It might not be Faith talkin’, and Linny may be there. We’re gettin’ close so we’ll know soon.”

That’s Alex’s cue to turn the pocketcam back on and check his handheld. He’d already done camera checks back at the hotel but it paid to be careful. Sometimes literally in the case of being a Vlogger. Mark turns his truck off the road and drives down an overgrown dirt path a ways before parking in front of a cabin. When he sees the worried look on Alex’s face he explains, “It’s my family’s. We don’t come out here anymore.”

There’s definitely a story there about why they don’t use it, but Alex doesn’t pry. He nods his head and clambers out of the truck, closing the door gently since he doesn’t know how far away the sermon is. Mark stalks off into the woods and Alex follows after him, softly narrating what they’re doing to the camera. He quiets down when the sound of voices start to drift through the trees, and Mark instinctively ducks lower, crouch walking. Alex mimics the pose, using the trees as cover.

They crest a hill that overlooks the river and a flat stretch of meadow. It’s decorated with lengths of white lacy fabric that's tied between trees and there are a bunch of benches set up for people to sit at. It’s all angled towards the river with a pulpit, similar to the one at Pastor Jerome’s church. A couple of women are standing beside it, and they have red crosses painted across their faces, or are they tattooed? Alex’s eyes widen, and when he glances over at Mark he mouths ‘what the hell?’ Mark shrugs wordlessly from where he’s hidden behind a tree. Alex zooms in on the women talking to one another. They’re wearing the same clothing, black leather tops and black pants. It’s so different from what he’s seen of the Project so far. He pans across the rest of the people gathered and he realizes that it was their voices they'd heard earlier. They were singing. It sounds a lot like the song he’d heard on the radio earlier;

“Help me faith...”

Okay, so it definitely was the same song but hearing it out here in the woods, with the sun setting over the mountains in the distance gave it a chilling effect. A few more people are trickling in from the woods, seemingly out of nowhere, and they’re all humming or singing the song too. There are very few things that have ever given Alex chills that run down to his toes, but this moment is one of them. The singing dies out when someone cries out ‘Faith’ and they all lower their voices as a girl walks through the shallow riverbank towards them. She’s got a white lace dress on with billowing sleeves. Flowers are dotted along the hem, crawling up towards her hip. She’s got dark blonde hair that falls in waves just past her shoulders and she looks too young for this.

He adjusts his grip on the camcorder and zooms in on her. On the viewfinder he can better see her features and when he turns it on the crowd they have a look of awe on their faces. She eventually walks out of the river and Alex then realizes she’s barefoot. That had to have hurt but she didn’t flinch even once. She takes her time approaching the pulpit, but walks past it, fingertips brushing across the shoulders of those sitting nearest the aisle. They all inhale deeply, visibly relaxing at her touch. It creeps him out. Once she’s circled the group of those seated, she comes to a stop in front of the pulpit and smiles, but even from this distance Alex can tell there’s something _off_ with it. Almost like she's calculating something. For a few seconds she doesn't say anything, but then she steps forward and she speaks, voice lilting like a meoldy.

“It’s so good to see all of you here.” A strong start, Alex _almost_ believes she’s sincere, “And so many new faces as well! I’m certain that the Father wishes he were here to be the first to welcome you, but since he isn’t I hope you’ll be able to feel his love and compassion through me as we talk tonight.” Faith had started to weave her way through the people again as she spoke, pausing and cupping the face of an older man at one point who honest to God looked like he’d died and gone to heaven when she did. “I know that these are scary times, and that it might feel like it’s all coming to an end,” she spins around, dress flaring out above her knees, “and that’s because it is.”

Oh. Okay then. Alex glances over at Mark for some indication of what’s going on, but he’s intently scanning the crowd for Linny.

“But you need to have Faith,” and she definitely says it like 'Faith' with a capital F, “because we are prepared for it and ready to face it together. The end is the beginning for us,” a few cheers, “don’t you want to be there to see the world born anew?” Faith sounds eager, her voice vibrating with excitement. “Don’t you want your friends and family to be beside you when we enter Eden?” More people are shouting ‘yes’ and Alex is beyond perplexed. They believed in Gan Eden? A literal version of it? “Because we want you.” Faith has stopped in front of a girl who was sitting hunched forward. She kneels down and holds her face between the palms of her hands. “Do you know what the Father told me?” Her voice is pitched to be a whisper but it carries, like a theater whisper. It gives the appearance of privacy while making sure everyone nearby can hear what she has to say. Clever. “He told me that I was special, that he could _see_ what was inside of me and that I was worthy of love.” The girl looks up and Alex can’t see much of her face, but he sees enough. The hope, the loneliness. “Just as you are.” The girl breaks down and Faith pulls her into an embrace, petting her hair and smiling in a way that’s probably meant to look benevolent but comes across as satisfied.

“We can help you see how loved you truly are.” She then releases her and stands up. The people on either side of the girl crowd in closer, maybe to be supportive but to Alex it looks overwhelming. Like sharks in the water that scented blood. Faith spins with her arms open at her sides, “Tonight is a wonderful night! We will have a communion and speak freely with one another. About where we came from and what brought us here together.” That seems to cue the women with red crosses on their faces. They now have trays with small pottery cups on them, filled with a steaming liquid. Each person takes one and Alex finds it odd that they’re doing something Catholic in nature. He wishes Hannah were here to see but he’ll show her the footage later.

Once everyone has their own cup, everyone _but_ Faith and the women assisting her that is, they wait for her direction and then when she lifts her hands, they lift their glasses and drink whatever’s inside of them. At that moment one of the women with red crosses had backed away and lit a fire behind the pulpit, back-lighting Faith and drawing audible gasps from the people gathered.

“In the light of the Father’s word, we can all find peace and comfort. All those who walk the path can feel this for themselves. Don’t you want that? To feel wanted? To _feel_ the warmth of his love?” More cries of yes and one person has fallen to their knees, sobbing. “Then walk the path, so you can see.” The women with crosses begin ushering people towards Faith before then taking a sharp left and guiding them into the woods. One by one they filter out until only Faith remains, a vacant smile on her face as she watches where they went. Then she too follows, and all that remains is the fire burning and the empty pews.

Neither Alex nor Mark move for a few minutes. Both are watching and waiting to see if anyone will come back, but no one does. Alex is the first one to stand up, creeping down the steep hillside to the area that had been left abandoned by the group. There’s an almost too-sweet scent in the air. Like flowers that are past their bloom and are starting to wilt. He records everything as he moves through the area, pausing to pick up a white leather-bound book with a gold cross imprinted on the front.

“That’s their knock-off bible.” Mark had followed Alex down towards the area they'd set-up, but he doesn't get any closer to the area. He stays at the bottom of the hill, shifting from one foot to the other with his arms crossed. “Joseph wrote it.”

“Huh.” Alex turns it over, but the back is void of any text, just like the front. He’ll read it later. For now he wants to see if anything else had been left behind. There are some white flowers that were spread around the area, and he’s careful to try and avoid stepping on them although most had already been trampled. Maybe that’s where the smell came from. He kneels down and picks one up, giving it a little shake and _yep_ it is definitely too-sweet. Alex drops it and wipes his hand off on his jeans for good measure, but the scent lingers.

“Let’s head back to your truck, talk there. They may come back to get all this stuff.” Alex doesn’t need to tell Mark twice it seems. He’s already climbing back up the hill. He turns the camcorder on himself. “Well, that was _something_. What exactly? No clue but I am sufficiently creeped out. I personally don’t have a beef with religion, but I don’t like it when people use it to take advantage of people and...I’m seeing a lot of that around here.” He has to get creative climbing the hill with one hand holding onto the book and the other his camcorder, all while he narrates at the same time. “Now maybe,” he slips and corrects his footing, “ _maybe_ it’s not what it looks like, but this looks _a lot_ like a cult to me. Which is what Mark and some other locals have been referring to the Project at Eden’s Gate as. I’m starting to think they might be right.” Alex is almost at the top of the hill when he hears it, hears _him_ –

“My my, Mark Shepard, you're out late. Have you come to try and find dear Linny?”

Alex hits the dirt, inhaling a bit of soil when he does. He army crawls the rest of the way up and peeks over the edge to see Mark facing down none other than John Seed. Good god, did the guy ever sleep? Careful to keep the lens from reflecting any of the remaining light, Alex angles the camcorder lower while watching to see what happened. If need be, he’d step in, but he didn’t want to blow their cover so soon, or undermine Mark. He'd been dealing with this for years before they showed up. 

“I’ve come to take my sister home!” Mark points a finger at John, and the two armed men beside him stand at attention, “You took her and you know it.”

“That is a serious allegation Mark. Your sister came of her own free will,” John gestures at himself with both hands, palms towards his chest and fingers splayed as though he were trying to convey understanding, “and we took her in as we do so many. If you truly cared for her you’d let her be happy with us and-”

“Happy?!” Mark interrupts, sounding more emotional than Alex had ever heard him. “She ain’t herself! I know my sister and what she is right now? Is anything but!”

John clicks his tongue, ‘tsking’ a few times as he starts to pace in one direction and then back towards Mark.

“That’s greed talking Mark, greed and envy for her finding a family after yours fell apart.” John’s voice has gotten lower, the words ‘greed’ and ‘envy’ practically bitten out between his teeth. “Yet, in spite of your sins she insists we give you a chance at redemption.”

“Redemption?” Mark sounds unsettled. “For what?”

“Those who will cross through Eden’s gates must be cleansed Mark. Of sin. To come to us freely now is a _sign_.” John’s slowly been making his way closer to Mark as he spoke, little by little he’s closing the distance and getting into his personal space. “A sign that you’re willing to set aside your sins and be a family, with all of us, with Linny.” John smiles at him, “Stop with these witch-hunts while you still can, because my patience _is growing thin_.” The smile turns sharp and Mark tenses, “And not even your dear, darling sister will hold back my wrath.”

“You’re insane.” Mark states, point blank with narrowed eyes as he stares at John with visible fear. Fear that the other man seems to breathe in.

“Yes, yes you people seem to love that insult in particular.” John brushes it off, turning around and striding back towards his men who hadn't moved from their position. “Consider the offer Mark. Your sister needs her brother, and the longer you put this off, the more undue pain and suffering you put her through.” John’s started to walk away, but he stops and spins on his heel, having remembered something it seems. “And if I catch you stalking our sermons like this again, I’ll baptize you myself then and there until you see the light so help me God.”

Alex’s mouth had dropped open sometime during the conversation, jaw having loosened from shock. John or one of John’s people must’ve been following Mark or maybe seen his truck, but not realized he had Alex with him. This was dangerous. They’d probably tail him back. Alex couldn’t be seen with him again for the night. _Shit_. John adjusts his jacket at the shoulders, flicking the coattails before walking away and disappearing into the thick woods, but with one last remark,

"Stay out of trouble Mark!"

A minute or two go by before Mark turns towards him and Alex gestures for him to go. Mark frowns, confused, but he walks away after some hesitation. Alex turns over onto his back and takes his phone out of his pocket to text him why they had to split up. He’d call Hannah to come and pick him up.

_John's probably got people watching you. Can't be seen with you or he'll know. Go back without me. Hannah will pick me up._

It takes a few tries for the text to send through and when it does he has to wait another five or so minutes for Mark’s reply. He tells him to call if he can’t get a ride and that they’ll talk tomorrow. There’s also a ‘sorry’ tacked on at the end but Alex ignores that. It’s not Mark’s fault that John Seed was thorough.

Alex ends up walking back a different way, following a more obvious path in the woods. It lets out at a public parking area that advertises a few trails on a sign, including one simply called ‘The Path’. Alex remembers Faith mentioning it and decides to take a picture of the sign with his phone. He then tucks the camcorder away inside his flannel shirt, between his arm and rib cage. It keeps it hidden in case anyone stumbles across him, which he realizes is a very real threat. Then he tries to call Hannah, only there’s no reception at the trailhead which means he has to walk until he finds a good enough signal to make a call with. He sighs heavily but heads out towards the main road and continues walking along it back in the direction of the hotel. His eyes are fixed on his phone screen, specifically the upper right corner where a little ‘x’ shows he still has no reception. _Shit_. There’s a stretch of dirt along the asphalt for him to safely walk on, but even if there wasn’t he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t get hit. Not a single vehicle has driven past and he’s been walking for fifteen minutes now.

Not a single bar of reception yet, but he’s hopeful that will change. He’s at twenty minutes of walking when he notices headlights coming from the opposite direction. The person drives past and then does a u-turn, pulling up alongside him and slowing down. Alex stops walking and heaves a sigh of relief. It’s their SUV. Hannah rolls down the passenger window, giving him a once-over.

“You look too expensive for me.” She smirks and he rolls his eyes, pulling on the door handle to get in.

“Way too expensive.” Then he buckles in and she accelerates, “Did Mark tell you to come get me?”

“Yeah and he sounded, off.” Hannah tilts her head, “What happened?”

“Oh boy that’s a story.” Alex brushes at some of the dirt on his pants. “I’ll tell you and Sara at the same time. It kind of correlates with what pastor Jerome told me earlier-”

“Which you never did share.” Hannah helpfully reminds him.

“Exactly, and now I’ve got even more to share. Did you know they had an adopted sister named Faith?” He asks and Hannah glances over at him.

“No. She never showed up in any searches I did about John or the Project.”

“Yeah me neither.” He sinks in the seat, “There’s a lot we don’t know.” Which was a dangerous thing considering their line of work. This wasn’t something they could wing and hope for the best. They had to be careful for Mark’s sake and their own. It was starting to feel like they were in way over their heads, but he’d made a promise to Mark and he was going to keep it. But...but maybe they needed to take a day to reevaluate their approach and consider their next moves very carefully. John Seed seemed to know what was happening everywhere, and if that were true then they had to switch things up a bit. They were dealing with a group that had resources they couldn’t dream of, and the support of religious zeal behind it which was far more dangerous than the kinds of stories they’d covered before. Faith, the concept not the girl, could drive people to do some intense things.

“Alex?”

He straightens up and realizes that they’re back at the hotel already. He must have zoned out on the drive.

“Sorry, I was thinking.” Alex twists to unbuckle his seatbelt and Hannah reaches over, her hand settling atop his on the buckle.

“Let’s talk about everything tomorrow. It can wait.” Alex opens his mouth to protest, but she gives him the Look. Lips pressed together into a thin line, eyebrows furrowed and a pinch to her cheeks, “No Alex, no arguing. Sleep tonight, talk tomorrow. Sara’s already passed out and we don’t need to wake her up for this.”

“ _This_ is kind of important.” Alex argues anyway and Hannah glares at him.

“I’m not saying it isn’t, but your health is important too and we can’t help Mark if you’re doing this.” She doesn’t have to go into details for him to know what ‘this’ means. Alex concedes defeat with a nod and gets out, dragging his feet up to their room with Hannah close behind. Like she said, Sara is passed out on one of the beds and doesn’t stir even when he drops a bottle of shampoo in the shower and stubs his toe on the door frame. Hannah had spread out on the other bed which he crawls into as well. Sara can have the other bed to herself for the night. Neither of them want to risk waking her up.

Hannah slides closer to him and throws an arm over his shoulder before pressing her forehead to the top of his head.

“We’ll figure this out Alex, the three of us. Just be patient.” She then gives him a hug before rolling over onto her side so they’re back to back. Alex listens to her shift about until she's comfortable. After a few minutes she’s breathing deeply, the steady inhale, exhale from behind him helping to calm his nerves, but all he can think about was what Faith said earlier,

_Don’t you want that? To feel wanted? To feel the warmth of his love?_

He rolls onto his stomach and shoves his face into the pillow, hoping to feel _something_ other than the dread gnawing away at his insides. Hannah had tried to comfort him, but her words felt hollow for some reason and he wished he knew why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Faith so much although I'm very aware my portrayal may not match with what some people think of her. To me, she is an antagonist as much as John or Jacob in the game. She's a force to be reckoned with and I think she's very good at using words to manipulate and guilt people into seeing things from her side. She's a survivor through and through and adapts to her situation so she's gonna be formidable in this fic. I'm also mixing some of Absolution's story into the mix for the history of the 'Faiths'. 
> 
> Oh also I gave Mark the last name Shepard! I've been sneakin' some references in throughout the fic to other games because I can. 
> 
> ANYWAY enough from me, if you got this far, thanks for being here and I hope you're staying safe!


	10. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah is starting to question the safety of Hope County while Alex is more determined than ever to keep going, but things get dicey when he goes out on a nature walk by himself.

Like usual, Hannah was the first one to wake up of the three, but since Alex was a light sleeper, he was up the moment she began moving around the room. Sara was still out cold in the other bed, sleeping off the sugar carb overload from the potluck the day before so they opted to go down and grab some breakfast without waking her. There was a small kitchenette that guests had access to, and Anna always seemed to have it stocked with a variety of baked goods. This morning there was a carafe of coffee, pastries, cereal, and an ice box with milk and juice for them all set up. Alex opts for a croissant and a cup of black coffee. Hannah gets a bowl of fruit, yogurt and a bottle of water. They sit down at a small wooden table, facing one another while each eating their meal of choice.

“I’m shocked you didn’t go for the bagels.” Hannah says, always chipper first thing in the morning.

Alex sips at his coffee, tries to loosen his vocal cords enough to respond. “They aren’t from New York. Nothing compares.” Nope, his voice still sounds way too deep and crackly to hold a conversation.

Hannah shakes her head, bemused but occupies herself with finishing up her breakfast. They eat in silence, neither seeming to hold a grudge from their argument the day before. Alex wasn’t sorry for doing whatever it took to get this story together and Hannah was used to it by now. Their friendship had weathered worse than a disagreement over how they got information while working a job. Alex gets up to go and refill his coffee, “Want some?” He asks and Hannah nods an affirmative.

He grabs another plain porcelain mug then fills it with coffee, leaving room to add some sugar and creamer the way she liked. The floor to his left creaks, just beyond the entryway which means someone else is arriving for breakfast. Alex expects Sara, but instead a mess of red hair fills the door frame.

Ah, Sparky.

“Oh hey, Alan, right?” Sparky asks as he sidles up beside Alex waiting for his turn at the coffee.

“Alex,” he corrects before greeting him, “and good morning.”

“Is it though?” Sparky retorts, his lips twisted into a frown and Alex notices dark circles beneath his eyes that weren’t there the day before. Alex watches as he puts spoonful after spoonful of sugar into an empty mug. At this rate the laws of chemistry are not going to allow it to be dispersed in the liquid when he pours the coffee.

“Rough night I take it?” Alex decides he’ll humor the guy, maybe it has something to do with the Project.

“I spent _all_ night ghost hunting and I had some amazing evps!” When Alex gives him a blank look he sighs and rolls his wrist as he says, “Electronic voice phenomena’s, basically ghosts trying to talk to me from the other side.”

“Woah.” Alex starts walking back towards the table where Hannah has been reading a local newspaper, oblivious to the plus one Alex is bringing back with him. That is until she looks up and notices the two, folding the paper and setting it aside as Sparky grabs a chair and pulls it over without waiting for an invitation to sit at the table with them.

“Yeah, woah!” He collapses into the chair, spilling some coffee on the table and the sleeve of his long-sleeve shirt. “Then I’m all set to wrap it up and one of those dudes bumps into me, sends my recorder right into the springs.”

Alex cringes, sympathetic to having lost equipment before.

“The Project was here?” Hannah asks, one eyebrow quirked.

“They do walk arounds, cut through the property on their way to visit one of those shrines they set up.” Sparky had grabbed a muffin and was picking it apart to get to the chocolate chips inside, making even more of a mess. Alex stares at the crumbs for a moment but tears his gaze away when he feels Hannah kick at him from under the table.

“What shrine?” Alex is the one to ask this time.

“Eh, the one at the top of the hill past all the trees, can’t miss it. But _my evps_.” He groans, dropping the muffin – what remained of it and then holding his head in his hands. “Dude didn’t even apologize, just kept walking without looking back. Now I’m going to have to stay another night.”

“You were gonna leave today?” Sparky nods his head at Alex, looking miserable through his fingers, “Why not still pack up and go?” Alex asks.

“I need something man.” Sparky sits up straight and starts tearing at the muffin for a second time. “Without my camcorder I gotta come up with some better footage to make this trip worth it. Audio is my next best bet. Sure I got my phone but like, the quality is garbage.”

Hannah and Alex had both finished eating and share a silent agreement, that it was time to go and wake up Sara.

“Sorry to hear that, I hope tonight goes better for you.” Alex claps a hand on Sparky’s shoulder as he stands, gathering their plates and subtly trying to wipe up some of the crumbs left over by Sparky. He groans and grumbles to himself, giving them a wave goodbye as he delves into his own monologuing rant about how unfair it was. Alex and Hannah drop off their dishes in the designated bin and Alex swipes another croissant for Sara to eat back in their room. When Hannah and Alex get back the shower is running, and her bed is made.

He gets the coffee maker they’d brought from home going so they can have coffee in their room without having to risk running into Sparky or Anna.

Hannah takes the downtime to stand out on the balcony, leaning on the railing and looking out at the view. Alex pulls out his phone and texts Mark.

_What are these shrines I just heard about?_

Then he focuses on his notebook, going through everything he’d written down so far and trying to make sense of what was happening. The Project had Joseph as its leader with Faith, Jacob and John acting as some kind of figurehead. John’s role was pretty obvious. The guy was an intelligent lawyer that had connections and money to go along with it. Jacob was still a mystery to him and Faith even more so.

“Hey, do you think you could ask Pratt some questions about the Project on your date?” Alex calls out to Hannah from where he’s reclining on the bed and she lifts one hand and flips him off.

“Not a date Kalinsky.”

“Whatever you say Trujillo.”

Alex can feel the eye roll from across the room, but he knows she’d try and work in some questions regardless. He was hoping to learn more about Faith, specifically the one that came before. Oh yeah, he had to tell Sara and Hannah what happened with the pastor and at the sermon the night before. Right on cue, Sara steps out looking far more refreshed than she had in months. Montana seemed to suit her.

“Oooh breakfast.” She goes straight to the paper plate of food. Hannah had grabbed some fruit to go along with the carb, and Alex has to hold back a snicker as Sara ignores it in favor of the croissant. She crosses her legs and balances the plate in her lap and Hannah comes back inside, dragging the chair from the desk over and sitting down in it.

“Guess that means it’s story time?” It’s a rhetorical question as Alex flips his notebook shut and sits up, throwing his legs over the side of the bed to face his two friends. Then he tells them everything. About how the pastor gave him one of Joseph’s notebooks and offered to help them in any way he could. How Faith was so eerie and ethereal and probably their age if not younger. That everyone drank something out of small pottery mugs and then wandered off into the forest. And of course, John Seed threatening Mark.

Through it all neither of the girls interrupted or said anything. Sara seems to get progressively less hungry, leaving half her croissant untouched while Hannah looked more and more worried.

“And that’s about the gist of it.” Alex finishes the story by collapsing back onto the pillows. “I am now taking questions.”

There’s a beat of silence, then two and Alex cranes his neck up to glance between them, “Really? Nothing?”

“We should go home.” Hannah says point blank and Alex sits straight again, “What?”

Sara chews at her bottom lip but doesn’t give her opinion one way or the other.

“You’re kidding.” Alex hopes she is, but when she levels him with a blank stare he blinks in surprise, “You’re _not_ kidding.”

Sara rubs at her biceps before standing up to pace around the room, but Hannah remains seated, looking calm and collected when really, she was on edge.

“I mean it. I know you want to help Mark, we all do, but we don’t know nearly enough about what’s going on here. We’re practically off the grid, disconnected from any of our resources aside from what we brought with us and things keep getting more and more complicated. It isn’t safe.” Hannah explains, and while it sounds reasonable, Alex wholeheartedly disagrees.

“We’ve done unsafe things before! Heck we do them basically all the time. We _promised_ him. We’re already here. We owe it to Mark to see it through.” Alex glances over at the third of their trio, “Sara? What do you think?”

She stops pacing, and her eyebrows lift, coming together in concern. “I don’t know. Honestly? I don’t think the Project is entirely responsible here, and it’s definitely creepy but I want to see it through like Alex.” He breathes a sigh of relief, glad to have her on his side for this because two votes outweighed one.

“Hannah, I’ll be more careful, I promise. We all will be. Is it because of the boat thing?” Alex asks, feeling like an ass for not having realized his friend had been scared.

“It’s about everything, not just the boat. Every time I turned the conversation to what was going on, Staci clammed up. Got weird about it and mentioned we should go visit Helena or Glacier National, anywhere but here. Then there’s John Seed showing up wherever you are and knowing about you. If he finds our YouTube…” She trails off, clearly having been thinking about this and worrying.

Oh.

It all clicks for Alex in that moment. They’d lied about their last names on plenty of jobs, why they were in certain places, and in general done some things in the past that had gotten them into trouble with the law. Alex more so than Hannah or Sara but still, she was his friend, so she was kind of associated with it all.

And here they were, doing all of the above only there was the added stress of someone like John Seed thrown in. A lawyer that had reach across multiple states who seemed to have a way of using someone’s past against them. Hannah was due to deploy out to basic in a couple of months, but someone like John could jeopardize that. Alex feels like even more of an ass for not putting two and two together.

“Let’s take today to rethink our strategy. I think…” He pauses for a second, “I think that I should do most of the investigating with Mark.” Hannah and Sara protest at the same time but he holds up a hand, “I’m not saying you two don’t investigate as well, but I’ve got the least to lose if the Project decides it wants to legally screw us over.” Sara’s eyes widen and she glances over at Hannah then back to Alex, now in on what they were worried about. Hannah sinks down in her chair some, too prideful to admit to her worries aloud.

“You think they would?” Sara asks softly and Alex shrugs.

“No idea, but so far John has only seen me out and about.” Alex stands up off the bed, going over to his backpack.

“It doesn’t take a genius to realize you have two friends with you.” Hannah rotates in the seat to follow Alex, watching as he goes through his things.

“You’re right, but if he doesn’t have anything then he doesn’t have anything.” Alex kneels down, pulling his phone out of his back pocket when it vibrates, and he reads the message Mark sent him.

“Hannah, if you can, get the deputy to talk about the Project, about Faith about anything. The more information we have the better. Sara, can you try and contact them through their website, an e-mail or something? And also go through these-” he drags the journal and the book bound in white leather out of his backpack and toss them over to her. She catches both.

“What are you going to do?” Sara asks, already thumbing through the journal curiously.

“I’m going to go check out that shrine Sparky mentioned.” Sara glances up, confused, and Hannah shakes her head.

“Alex…”

“I’m just going out for a nature walk essentially.” Alex had stuffed some bottles of water and granola bars into his backpack along with a map and some other basic survival gear. “See? No camcorder!” Alex stands up and holds his arms out at his sides, spinning around to prove his point.

“I kind of want to enjoy the scenery, especially if we end up deciding to cut things short.” A glance at Hannah who sighs heavily, “Sure. I need the car to meet Pratt later, so have it back by five.”

“Okay mom.” Alex grabs one set of keys off of the bedside table on his way out, giving his friends a jaunty two fingered salute which both returned before he closes the door. He lingers outside in the hallway for a moment, listening to the girls as they talk to one another. Their voices are too soft to carry but he can pick out his name amidst the sounds and with that he takes his leave. Anna is at the front desk, like usual, but since she’s on the phone she can’t do anything more than smile at Alex as he passes by.

For how dead the place was she sure had to take a lot of phone calls. Alex walks past her, giving a casual wave which she returns in kind.

Sparky’s directions to the shrine were less than helpful but after Alex circles the area for the third time he catches a glimpse of something white through the trees. He pulls off the road into a small area filled with gravel and parks the car before reaching into his backpack to set up the pocketcam. It wasn’t _technically_ a camcorder so he hadn’t lied to Sara and Hannah, but he couldn’t go out without some form of a recording device. It was in their best interests to have plenty of B-footage anyway.

He turns it on then shoulders his backpack and hops out. Alex makes sure the car is locked, twice, then follows the worn-down path into the forest. It’s a beautiful walk with the river off to his right, twinkling between the tree trunks while the sun shines down through the leaves, dappling the grass. It’s easy to forget why he’s here when the scenery is so distracting. After about thirty minutes of walking he rounds a corner and sees it.

At the very top of the hill is a building that looks like a miniature church. It’s hollow, with metal grating making up most of the framework. The steeple in front has wood siding but the rest is metal. There are vines growing up the sides of it, and when he gets closer, he notices an indentation in the ground inside of the building. Alex rounds to the backside, investigating the cage-door that has a padlock on it. Unless he wanted to try pick locking it, there was no way in. Not that it would make much of a difference since there’s nothing but dirt and flowers inside the hollow structure.

There’s a pulpit back around front as well with a lace trimmed piece of cloth covering it and weighed down with a rock to keep it from blowing away. Alex walks closer and spies a copy of the book of Joseph inside of it, tucked away. He takes the book out and sets it down on the pulpit, flipping the cover over so he can read it.

It’s nothing like he expected. The book is a glorified autobiography with a heaping dose of self-serving martyrdom when it comes to the Seeds’ upbringing and respective struggles. He gets through a few chapters before deciding to sit down with his back against the pulpit so he’s facing the strange shrine. The book is a quick read, with Alex mostly skimming the pages. Time passes by without him realizing it and he’s nearing the end when he hears voices.

Alex slams the book shut and stuffs it back where it was before, standing up and turning around to try and figure out where they were coming from. He rushes over towards the path he’d taken to reach the shrine and spots a group of the Project’s people coming his way, with something in a wagon being dragged by the ones in the back of the procession.

“Shit.” He backs up and runs around to the other side of the shrine, gauging how far the drop was between ledges and whether he could risk the jump or not. The decision is taken from him when someone whistles, the sound low and way too close.

“That’s quite a drop. Especially when you’re carrying weight.”

Alex slowly tilts his head and doesn’t know what to do or say because Jacob Seed is watching him from maybe ten feet away, arms folded, and one corner of his lips lifted in a bemused smirk.

“You gonna do it?” He asks when Alex doesn’t move or say anything.

“Just enjoying the view.” Alex finds his voice and with it he takes a step back from the edge, wishing he’d committed to launching himself off five minutes ago. Jacob grunts, not seeming to buy it before he turns away from Alex and waves at the people who Alex had seen. They’ve got a barrel of that same stuff from the video Sara got at the Whitetails and Alex realizes then that the indentation in the dirt was from something roughly that size.

He watches as one of them takes out a key and unlocks the cage door, two others walk the barrel into the area, securing it before loosening the lid and stepping back out. The door gets locked again and they start walking back down the hill from where they came. Jacob isn’t left alone, there are two people who stayed behind, both wearing red and black vests like the guy in the video had been. They stand near the pathway, blocking the only safe way out he knew of. Alex’s pulse spikes, heart pounding against his ribcage as he comes to the conclusion that there’s no way out except past them. Or down the cliffside Jacob seemed eager to watch him scale. He glances over to see Jacob staring at him, unphased when their eyes meet.

Neither say anything. Alex feels like he’s being silently judged, or that Jacob is trying to get him to lose his composure with the creepy eye contact.

“Didn’t see you at the potluck.” Alex breaks the ice, and what he says is unexpected enough to get Jacob Seed to smile.

It’s not a nice smile.

“They didn’t much like my cooking.” Jacob Seed is talking with him and Alex can’t quite believe it. He tries to play it nonchalant, act like having a conversation beside a shrine deep in the forest was normal.

“Good excuse, I’ll keep that in mind next time.” Alex starts to walk away at that point, and Jacob doesn’t move to stop him or say anything. It feels too easy, but when he passes the shrine, Jacob whistles and the shrill sound must mean something to his people because one of them raises their bow and – _holy shit this is how I die_ – loose an arrow.

Rather than embedding in his chest it hits something beside him and the smell of something too sweet hits him. Alex scrunches his nose, lifts one arm to his face and tries to block out the smell by shoving his nose into the crook of his elbow, but it’s too late.

He stumbles to the side as the world tilts on its axis and he’s hit with a wave of vertigo. The metal grating holds him up, but the smell is even stronger here and he shoves away from it, stumbling towards the pathway he’d come up.

“What the hell is that?” He asks, his voice hitched high with fear.

“A gift from Faith.” Jacob’s voice is everywhere and Alex spins around to face him. Despite being so damn tall the guy moves silently, and he’s practically looming over Alex. When he reaches out to steady him Alex blocks, shoving his hand away with one forearm. Muscle memory from years of boxing, wrestling and a bit of self-defense. The move surprises Jacob, who gives Alex an appraising look. It’s like the one John had given him outside the police station and it makes his skin itch.

“Who are you?” Jacob asks, watching as Alex backs away from him with hands raised in a defensive posture. Like a boxer.

“A hiker you just drugged.” Alex deadpans and Jacob laughs, it’s more like a bark really. When he reaches out for Alex a second time, he flings himself backwards – right over the edge of the cliff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha haaaa about that fic am I right? >>


	11. Truth and Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex can't remember what happened, but John and Jacob Seed are there to fill in the gaps.

People are talking and his head _hurts_ and Alex really wants to go back to sleep but he must have moved or something because a cool hand cards through his hair, pushing it aside and in doing so skirting something that makes him hiss in pain. No going back to sleep now.

“Tut tut it isn’t that bad.” They murmur, and Alex wholeheartedly disagrees, but he doesn’t do more than grunt his dissent. After a few more seconds of painful contemplation he blindly pushes the hand away before opening his eyes a fraction of an inch. The room he’s in is dark at least, with the sun outside lower in the sky than he remembered it being. Come to think of it, what _did_ he remember? He’d gone out to find the shrine and read the book of Joseph and then…nothing. His mind has a gaping black hole where there had to have been something.

It’s mildly terrifying.

“Where am I?” Alex sits up slowly, his head spinning and someone’s hand hovering nearby just in case he collapses backwards, but he’s fine.

“My home of course. You didn’t think my brother would just leave you in the mountains to be consumed by the wildlife, did you?”

Wait a second…That voice. Alex’s eyes drop to the hand hovering beside his arm, taking in the black ink that snakes its way up their wrist and then forearm. When he reaches the rolled up blue sleeve, his stomach flips. Alex’s gaze trails the rest of the way up to meet John’s and he looks pleased with himself. It takes a moment for him to see Jacob lurking in the doorway with his arms folded, watching them intently.

“Is your home a hospital on the side?” The first thing out of his mouth shouldn’t be sarcasm, but it’s his kneejerk reaction. John smiles at him with too many teeth and goosebumps break out along Alex’s arms and legs.

“Oh, there’s no hospital in Hope County, just a clinic where the one doctor is out dealing with a patient for the day. I had our physician look you over.” John says it so casually, like this is a normal, run of the mill, everyday event for him. Alex reaches back to gingerly probe the back of his head and realizes there’s a bandage around his forehead.

“I wouldn’t if I were you.” John whispers it, a gleam in his eyes. “You were bleeding all over, but good doctor Cullen took care of you. He said it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. You’re a lucky boy.”

Alex wants nothing more than to tear it off and chuck the bloodied bandage at John’s face, but he restrains himself and opts for swinging his legs around so he can sit more normally on the couch. The room he’s in is huge, with an open floor design featuring a fireplace in the middle. The doors to the back porch are open wide to let a breeze in, and that’s where Jacob is standing, still as a statue.

“What is ‘it’ exactly? What happened?” And why was it that Jacob Seed of all people had found him and taken him back to John Seed? He glances between the two, and carefully scoots further down the couch, away from John. The motion makes him a little nauseous, but he swallows it down so he can get some room to breathe.

“Saw you fall over the ledge.” Jacob speaks up from where he’s standing, but still he doesn’t move. It’s fucking creepy. “Must’ve lost your balance.” Alex tries to remember that, straining to recall what he had done after reading that book, but it’s all blank. He stares at Jacob, searching him for any indication he was lying, but his skull feels like it’s clogged up with cotton and he can’t keep a thought straight let alone read body language.

He leans forward, braces his hands on his knees and starts to stand. “Okay well thanks, I’m going to go now.” Alex sways a little but doesn’t fall over. Jacob quirks his brow, and it’s so much like Hannah that he looks away. The only other person he has to look at, unfortunately, is John.

“So if you could, oh crap – the car.” Alex couldn’t get back if he didn’t have a car. Hannah needed it for that not-date tonight too, “Crap, what time is it?” Jacob’s smiling now, amused by Alex or something else, maybe the guy just had a shitty sense of humor.

“It’s 3:45, why?” John answers, and Alex is so weirded out by how _normal_ he’s being about this that he doesn’t say anything for a few minutes, brain too scrambled to keep up.

“I uh, need to get back to the hotel, with the car.” Alex doesn’t want to mention his friends. “The car I left parked back at that shri – why were you there?” He stops midsentence to round on Jacob and ask him a question, suspicious about having fallen or lost his footing. He wasn’t clumsy, he wouldn’t have fallen or risked it. Would he?

“I live here.” Jacob deadpans, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

‘Here’ is some 150,000 square miles, but Jacob happened to be there at that exact moment? Alex doesn’t buy it, but he can’t say that aloud for fear of coming on a little too strong with his line of questions.

“Cool, thanks, I have to get back.” He turns towards John who has a pinched brow and baffled look on his face that would’ve been funny under other circumstances, “Appreciate the help, and the uh, private doctor, please don’t bill me I can’t afford it, but where are we?” John glares at him and Alex takes a couple of steps before tilting precariously to one side, but he catches himself on the back of a chair. “I meant where in Hope County? Can I walk back to the car?”

“I drove you here.” Jacob says, and at the same time John remarks;

“You can’t drive.”

Two answers overlapping one another. Alex pales as he glances over at Jacob, trying not to imagine the guy dragging his unconscious body into the back of a truck and then tearing down the highway with him bleeding out. Then he realizes that John is right, and he probably can’t drive.

“Follow up question,” Alex begins, which Jacob smirks at while John rolls his eyes, pressing the fingertips of his left hand to his eyebrow as though he has a headache. Well, he’s not the one who apparently fell off the cliff and cracked his skull open so he can _deal_ , “Can I take this bandage off and is the car still where I left it?”

Jacob shrugs one shoulder as though to say he didn’t know, and Alex takes that as a yes for now while John squints at him like he’s some kind of an anomaly.

“I don’t think that would be wise Alex.” John’s voice is low, and just like that, the feeling of ice water being dumped over him returns, full force.

The hit to his head made him complacent, made him forget who he was dealing with and why he was here. This was the worst possible position to be in. Injured, vulnerable, and with two potentially dangerous people they were investigating watching his every move. John Seed, who knew more about him than he was comfortable with. Jacob Seed who exuded ‘danger’ and ‘threat’ the same way a predator did.

He slowly retracts his hand from where he was holding onto the seat and thinks through his options.

“Right, sorry.” Alex says, his voice more mellow. That complacency has Jacob stepping away from the doorframe, unfolding his arms as he does. Alex thinks. Did he have anything incriminating on him? His backpack was near Jacob, on the floor at his feet. All that had in it were supplies for the day. His phone was…nowhere in sight but he had it locked so they shouldn’t be able to gain access to it. The only thing that might give him away is the pocketcam but he could feel its weight still where it was before. Which means it recorded everything. Alex’s heart starts racing again. He had to get out of there, fast, so he could look over the footage.

“Perhaps you should stay the night. I have more than enough space.” John walks towards him, eyes fixed on Alex much like Jacob’s, waiting to see what he’d do. Since Alex had apologized, he’d been silent, looking at nothing while his eyes took on a thousand-yard stare. John’s voice seems to snap him out of it as he looks over and shakes his head. Oh, big mistake that. He’s instantly woozy again.

“I’m good. I just need to find my phone so I can call someone to come pick me up.” Alex’s mouth and throat are dry, and his head hurts from how fast his heart is beating.

“You got friends here?” Jacob asks, and oh if _that_ isn’t a loaded question, Alex doesn’t know what is.

“I met some nice people at the potluck. Did you happen to see my phone anywhere?” Alex asks and Jacob grumbles a short, “No.” When he glances over at John the man shrugs his shoulders as though to say, ‘what can you do?’

These assholes had one hundred percent, stolen his phone.

“Cool can I get a ride into town then?” John shares a look with his brother and Alex glances between them, uncomfortable with how easily they have a conversation without saying anything. Is this how people felt whenever he and Sara and Hannah did it? John walks closer and reaches out, setting one hand on Alex’s shoulder. It feels heavier than it should.

“You’ve suffered a concussion Alex,” _he shouldn’t know my name_ , “and you can barely stand up. Rest here for the night and I’ll personally drive you wherever you want to go come tomorrow morning.” John Seed makes it sound reasonable, makes it sound like the best idea in the world.

Alex needs to think of a way out of this, or at least some way to get the car back to Hannah without arousing suspicion, but he doesn’t want to make a phone call on either of their phones in case they record the conversation.

“No offense but I don’t know you, either of you, and this was nice and all, but I think I’d rather be back at the hotel in my room.” Alex looks at John, looks for anything that might indicate how he’s feeling, but the man doesn’t so much as flinch. All he does is walk closer to him with a soft look in his eyes that makes Alex extremely uncomfortable. 

“Of course.” John places a hand to his own chest, rubs a circle counterclockwise, “In that case I’m sure Jacob can drive you back to the hotel,” Alex opens his mouth to argue, “and I’ll have someone fetch the car for you, hm?” His lips press together, and he stares blankly at him. The idea of someone else driving their SUV, their home away from home was _wrong_.

“Counterpoint,” Alex begins, “uh, Jacob here drives me back to where the car is, and if I’m not feeling great _then_ I go back to the hotel.”

“I fail to see how there is any logical argument there.” John states, and Alex thinks about how this guy is a lawyer, first and foremost. It’s easy to forget he’s the same man as the one he’d seen at Lorna’s truck stop, or the one who’d threatened Mark the night before. Too easy. Maybe it’s just the concussion’s fault and not John’s charismatic nature. Maybe it’s both.

“Never said it was logical, anyway thank you again.” Alex carefully picks his steps over towards his backpack, but when he leans down to get it, he nearly somersaults forward, stopped only by a firm grip on the back of his shirt. He straightens up with his backpack held to his chest, giving Jacob a nervous glance when he doesn’t let go of his shirt right away. Manners drilled into him by his parents force him to mumble “thanks” before he turns to stare at John, the motion forcing Jacob to let go of him. John’s watching them, eyes narrowed.

“Front door?” Alex asks, sounding far more chipper than he feels.

John rolls his wrist, and his eyes before turning to the side and gesturing towards what is apparently the front of the house. Jacob walks past him, pausing to share one last meaningful look and Alex hurries after him, his head pounding with every step he takes.

An arm shoots out, cold fingers brushing against his collarbone and stopping Alex in place. He slowly turns his head to meet John Seed’s eyes, waiting for him to say something.

“Do take care Alex,” he exhales and leans closer, “not everyone in Hope County is as benevolent as we are.” His fingers curl, snagging some of Alex’s cotton v-neck. Jacob clears his throat and John straightens up, giving Alex the room to breathe again. “Until next time.” He smiles, like he hadn’t just crossed the boundary of acceptable behavior, but Alex doesn’t care enough to stay and call him out on it. He picks up the pace and follows Jacob out towards a beat-up truck. The red paint is chipped away in some places and there’s a rust spot on the front bumper.

He climbs into the passenger seat, and buckles himself in, watching as Jacob does the same on the driver side.

_Don’t freak out, this could be worse, don’t freak out._

Jacob starts the truck and backs out of the driveway, doing a perfect three-point turn that gets them facing the right way to drive out. It gives Alex the chance to look at John Seed’s home. An extravagant ranch that has a – is that an _airstrip_? There’s more to see but craning his neck hurts so he settles in for the awkward drive all the way back to where the SUV had been left. He hopes it isn’t far, but the scenery looks more like Holland Valley than the Henbane and that’s at least thirty minutes from the hotel. _Swell_.

Mercifully, Jacob doesn’t make conversation, but he doesn’t turn on the radio either leaving them in an uncomfortable silence. Alex lasts all of ten minutes before he lowers the visor to look at himself in the mirror. Other than the pale tone his skin had taken on and the bandage he doesn’t look too banged up. He grabs the end of the bandage and starts unwrapping it. From the driver seat Jacob snorts.

“Can’t help yourself huh kid?”

“Morbid curiosity.” Alex claims as he pulls the last of it off. With it comes a gauze pad that is soaked in blood. He gingerly pokes around the area, feeling a hell of a bump and dried blood but no stitches. That’s good. Even better is that his hair should cover it. He wads up the bandages and stuffs it into the backpack. Jacob juts his chin out towards it.

“Unconventional memento.”

“What can I say? I love collecting nasty bloody bandages.” Alex was going to throw it out at the hotel, somewhere inconspicuous where neither Hannah nor Sara would see.

The tense silence returns, and Alex has to fight with himself to keep from fidgeting. He eventually rolls down the window to get some fresh air since his stomach feels like it’s going to betray him at any moment. Jacob seems to pick up on his nausea and slows down from the lightspeed he’d been driving. The guy had a lead foot.

“You should’ve broken your neck on that fall.” Jacob, of all people, is the one to start a conversation, startling Alex and distracting him from how sick he felt.

“Lucky me. So, you saw me fall?” Maybe he could get Jacob caught up in a lie, or have something to compare to later when he checked the pocketcam footage. Jacob glances away from the road to meet Alex’s eyes briefly, and nods.

“Thought for sure you were dead.” His fingers loosen around the wheel for a moment, letting it slide through them after easing into a turn. “You fell backwards, landed on a rock, smacking your head and rolling back off of that but had the sense to grab onto the edge and land on your feet on the next rock down. Then you were out like a light.”

Alex frowns, not liking the vivid description of how he nearly died.

“Pure instinct.” Jacob says, and the _way_ he says it sends a shiver down Alex’s spine. The Seed’s were good at giving him the creepy-crawly feeling. “That’s what saved you.”

He doesn’t know what to say to that, so he says nothing, but Jacob doesn’t seem to mind the silence. After a while he starts humming a tune. It’s unfamiliar to Alex so he can’t cut the tension by singing along poorly.

All he can do is watch the road and glance nervously at the clock on the dash, counting down the time as it got closer and closer to five pm.

When they finally pull into the dirt parking lot where the SUV was left, he breathes a sigh of relief. It hadn’t been broken into and there was no sign of anyone else around. Jacob parks next to the driver’s side and puts his truck in park, turning in his seat to drape one arm over the back of the bench seat as he eyes Alex. Fingertips dangerously close to brushing against his shoulder.

“You already decided you’re going to drive back.” He assumes, and he is correct in that assumption.

“I feel a lot better and it’s not that far to the hotel.” Alex explains, but Jacob doesn’t seem to care, merely shrugging and leaning _over_ him to unlock the passenger door. Alex plasters himself to the back of the seat as much as he can, exhaling to cave in his chest and avoid any contact with the man. Jacob notices it, and when he does it feels like time stops. His arm brackets Alex in against the seat and his face is somewhere near his left shoulder. Near enough for him to feel his breath against the side of his neck.

It’s agonizing. Waiting for him to move, and it’s even more difficult not to bolt the second Jacob has given him the chance to. Alex wills himself to move slowly, pulling on the door handle and then pushing the door open so he can hop out. He uses the door to keep himself upright as he waits for his stomach to settle down and then he grabs his backpack and steps away, slamming the door shut.

“Thanks.” Alex doesn’t say what for. The ride, for saving his life? He’s skeptical of Jacob having been there for any other reason than to try and kill him. Who’s to say he hadn’t shoved him off the cliff in the first place? But…then why would he have taken him to John? It’s too much to think about when his head hurts so much. He unlocks the car and gets in, dropping his backpack in the passenger seat. Alex starts it and then turns to see Jacob’s already pulling out onto the road, headed north towards the Whitetails. He waits until he’s out of view before driving in the opposite direction towards the hotel.

He goes _much_ slower than the speed limit, but between the wobbling road and his upset stomach he doesn’t want to risk an accident at high speeds. By the time he parks in front of the hotel it’s 4:39 and he has about twenty minutes to spare on the five-o clock deadline Hannah set for him earlier.

Alex uses the railing to help get up the stairs and is taken by surprise when Anna opens the front door for him.

“Saw ya pullin’ in and thought I’d meet you halfway.” She says with a wink and Alex smiles weakly at her.

“Thanks.” She waves off his gratitude, following behind him after having shut the door. If she walks a little closer on his heels than is normal, Alex doesn’t notice. He heads for the stairs up to the second floor, once again using the railing to keep his footing steady as he goes. All the while Anna watches, lips turned down at the corners. Only once he’s out of view does she pick up the phone to make a call.

The door to their room is unlocked and Alex drops his backpack just inside the door when he enters, noticing Hannah is on the balcony again while Sara is laid out on one of the beds, reading with a notebook beside her filled with scribblings.

“You barely made it back in time,” Hannah says as she turns around to face him, frowning when she sees how pale he looks, “you okay?” The question gets Sara to look up from her work, and she too seems worried.

“I’m good, just had a long day of walking, fell and uh lost my phone.” He reaches up to rub at the back of his head, but stops short of doing so, merely keeping his hand over the injury for a moment.

“You _fell_?!” Sara jumps to her feet and looks him over. “Jesus Alex.”

“Did you hurt yourself?” Hannah too crowds in to see the damage.

“Just hit my head but I’m good.” Alex feels awful about lying to them, but he knows they’ll want to call it off if he tells them what happened. Hannah will demand they go to the nearest hospital which is hours away to get a scan and Sara will back her up on it.

“Hey you look nice.” Alex points out as Hannah starts to get a little _too_ close to the back of his head. The compliment gets her attention and she narrows her eyes, skeptical of him.

“Thanks. I’ll be back before it’s too late. Which phone did you lose?” Hannah asks, and thankfully it’s the apple, the one he only used for recording footage. All of it had already been uploaded to the cloud and then cleared off the phone’s storage. Even if John or Jacob somehow got into it, which they _wouldn’t_ , they’d find a whole lot of nothing.

“My iphone, but I’m going to go ahead and lock it with my other one.” He walks over to the bed and sits down, reaching for the phone he’d left charging on the side-table. It’s his android. The one he’d done enough customizing on to practically make it a phone of its own. He had fail safes in place for most of his electronic devices, and the ones they used for the vlog. Since crappy signal made GPS tracking impossible, he’d have to lock it down. There’d be no way to access the phone’s data, not unless he unlocked it.

While he sets that up, Hannah mouths at Sara ‘watch him’ to which she nods.

“Don’t you have a date to go to?” Alex asks, and Hannah rolls her eyes, but smiles.

“I’ll let him down gently. Don’t have too much fun without me.” She takes the ring of keys Alex had just set down and walks out the door, pausing to give Alex one last lingering look before she closes it behind her.

It takes all of two seconds before Sara is sitting down on the bed across from him, “Spill.”

“Like, the beans? We don’t have any.” Alex stands up and walks over to the shower, hoping like hell his hair was dark enough to hide the crusted blood from his fall. “I need to shower first, all sweaty and nasty.”

“Ew.” Sara groans, “We’re talking after your shower though.”

Alex gives her a thumbs up before stepping into the bathroom and then shucking all his clothes off. He turns towards the mirror and cringes at what he sees. There’s a good bit of bruising around his ribs, probably from where he hit the edge of the rock, and when he turns around, he sees a sizable one at the center of his back, spreading down towards his hips. He turns on the shower and sets the water to something lukewarm, opting to sit down rather than risk slipping and falling for a second time that day.

From where he sits in the tub, he looks at his pile of clothing and thinks about the pocketcam that’s still rolling. It’s trapped in the pocket of his flannel, hidden beneath his pants and t-shirt. It was going to be difficult to watch that without Sara seeing or asking him about it. He might have to wait until tomorrow.

He keeps his head tilted back and away from the spray of water, not wanting to risk getting his cut wet or reopening it. Once he feels properly cleaned, he carefully climbs out of the tub and then turns off the water. Alex had forgotten to bring in a change of clothes but when he looks at the counter there’s a pile sitting there for him. Sara must have done it. Once dried, he pulls on the loose shirt and pajama bottoms. Bless Sara for knowing when he wanted to be comfortable and not held back by denim jeans. He kneels down and fishes in the pile of clothes for his pocketcam and then flicks it off, tucking it away in the oversized pocket of his sweatpants. He bundles the rest up, ignoring the blood stains on his flannel. There’s a washing machine down on the main floor they can use. He’ll go down in a little while, after appeasing Sara’s curiosity.

“I ordered a pizza. It should be here in fifteen minutes.” Sara says from where she’s seated on her bed, once again reading the books Alex had left for her.

“Sounds good.” Alex walks over to sit down beside her, picking up her notebook to read her insights into the Book of Joseph. It’s a lot of notes about the Father. It looks like she’s tried to piece together a timeline of his life. It’s centered entirely around Joseph Seed, his life from childhood up until most recently as the Father. Sara sets aside the Father’s journal, watching Alex as he reads through what she had so far. It’s silent in the room save for the sound of him turning the pages of the notebook.

Once he reaches the end Alex sets it aside and smiles at Sara, “Good stuff Sara. Solid timeline of events.”

She smirks, head tilting to one side, “Thanks, I know.” Alex swats at her arm lightly and she pushes him back. The movement makes him nauseous and he closes his eyes for a second to keep it together in front of her.

“Alex?” She asks, voice full of concern.

“I’m fine, got a little bit of a headache.”

“Okay…” She doesn’t sound convinced, but she doesn’t push the issue, merely eyeing him up and down.

“But seriously this is great. Have you been able to fact-check much of this yet?” Alex turns the questions back to the case about Joseph Seed and the Project. Away from himself so Sara can’t fixate on the way he holds himself or how he favors one side more than the other.

“Not yet but that’s the next step. Unless _somebody_ wants to give me a helping hand.” Sara moves to nudge him with her elbow but stops short, remembering his injury at the last minute.

“Oh I am definitely the guy for the job. I’ll take payment in pizza. First I’m going to go do some laundry and I’ll pick up the pizza on my way back.” He moves from the bed, but Sara reaches out and wraps her fingers around his wrist.

“Alex, seriously, are you okay?” Her voice is soft, barely above a whisper. It gives him enough of a pause for her to tug on his arm, getting his attention back on her. “You’ve been quiet since you came back. There…there hasn’t been another episode, or anything has there?”

His eyes jump from her hand to Sara’s face.

“No, nothing like that,” he reassures her before turning into her and leaning down to give Sara a hug, “seriously, I’m fine.” At least when he’s hugging her, she can’t see his face, and the way his expression falls. Alex has never been a good liar.

“Okay, I believe you.” Sara gives him a squeeze then lets go of him. The moment she does he returns to the bathroom to get his bloodied clothing. He steps outside of their room, holding the bundle beneath one arm. Alex rounds the corner and nearly runs into Anna who makes a startled sound.

“Oh! Alex! Nice to see you again so soon. Laundry? Would ya like me to take it for ya?” Anna offers, already holding her arms out with a smile. It takes his brain a while to catch up, and in that time she’s somehow transferred the clothing from him to her.

“I’ve got to go downstairs and wait for a pizza so I can take it down there anyway.” Alex offers, but Anna waves him off.

“Nah I’ll carry it down! We can go together this way.” She’s nothing if not accommodating, and it has Alex on high alert. After John, after…Jacob, he doesn’t trust anyone here.

“Thanks Anna.” He follows her back down the stairs as she talks about nothing and everything.

“I’d of recommended the 8-Bit Pizza Bar but it’s closed so I told Sara about the only other place offerin’ any pizza. It should be here soon. They’re just a hop, skip and a jump down the road. If ya don’t mind my sayin’ you look like you’ve been through the wringer. If ya need some Tylenol I’ve got a bottle at the front desk.” She reaches the base of the stairs before him and turns to watch as he takes his time going down them one at a time.

“I’m good, just going to sit out front and wait for the pizza if you don’t mind.” Alex walks past her to the doors, opening them and letting the heat of the evening hit him square in the face. Anna shouts a ‘sure’ after him then walks away to put his clothes in the washing machine.

Alex loves the heat, can’t get enough of it, and it’s just what he needs after being inside the air-conditioned hotel. As much as he loved Sara, he needed some time and space to think for himself. His head was still spinning from everything that had happened. There was a gaping hole in his memory that he needed to fill, but he couldn’t watch the footage, not yet. Maybe after Sara had gone to bed.

He sits down on the front step, stretching his legs out. There’s a clear view of the drive coming up to the hotel and he can even see the river in the distance. He can’t get over how beautiful Hope County is. Time passes slower than it did in the city, or maybe that’s the head injury talking. Ten minutes pass before a car pulls up, and out steps a kid with a couple of boxes in his arms. Alex stands, taking the boxes from him when he gets close enough.

“Uh, oh crap, a tip uh...” He reaches into the pocket that doesn’t have the camcorder and is relieved to feel the crinkle of paper bills. He takes out a ten and hands it to him. The kid thanks him then leaves. When he turns around Anna is waiting to open the door for him.

“You know I can do that myself.” He says it like a joke and Anna laughs at him.

“I ain’t got nothing better to do, so don’t you worry one bit. You got all that?” Anna is quick to dismiss his praise which only makes him more suspicious of her.

“Yep I’m good, thanks for tossing my clothes in the wash I’ll grab them later.” He walks past her, leaning against the railing a little as he makes his way back up to their room. Sara left the door open for him and he hip checks it the rest of the way open. If he weren’t feeling so lightheaded he’d have hooked a foot behind him to close it again but he opts for setting the pizza on the bed first.

“Hey, what if we just watch a movie and take it easy for the night?” He suggests, and Sara’s eyebrows lift.

“You want to take a break?” Sara walks over to the minifridge, grabbing a couple of sodas from inside before returning to sit next to him on the bed. “Alex how bad did you knock your skull?”

Alex chuckles, “Not bad but it’s been a while and I’ve downloaded some truly bad movies that are cheesy enough to go with the pizza. Might as well enjoy some of our time here, right?” He hopes like hell it sounds convincing. To his own ears it sounds like a weak distraction.

“Sure, yeah I’d like that.” Miracle of miracles it worked. Sara agrees and they open the first box, a large pizza that’s half Hawaiian for him and half vegetarian for her. There’s also a box of chicken wings and cheesy bread to round out their carb-loaded feast.

It’s nice.

It’s normal.

Alex didn’t realize how much he needed this until they set up the laptop between them and lean back on the bed, eating their respective pizza and talking over the actors to make their own lines for the poorly narrated movie. It’s so nice that he forgets about the footage on the pocketcam and why they’re where they’re at if only for an hour.

He falls asleep leaning against Sara. Neither stir when Hannah opens the door a few hours later. Despite being a light sleeper Alex doesn’t move when Hannah cleans up their mess and drops a blanket over the two of them, out harder than he’d been in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To make up for the lack of updates, here's another chapter this one with a lot more Seeds! 
> 
> Hooray?


	12. Delving Deeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex realizes how tenuous their safety and friendship is in Hope County.

Waking up is a mistake. Alex groans as sunlight hits his face, waking him up when he’d rather be sleeping. It’s tempting to pull a pillow over his face, but he resists the urge so he can get up and check on his head wound. There’s some blood on the pillowcase and he cringes at the stain. There’s no good way to hide that other than stripping the bed of all its sheets and using laundry as an excuse. Which is exactly what he does. Alex pulls the sheets off of both beds along with all of the pillowcases and makes a pile to take down. Sara and Hannah are probably eating breakfast since the room is empty save for him.

He hobbles his way into the bathroom and grabs one of Sara’s compact mirrors to get a look at the back of his head in the mirror. It’s hard to tell with his dark hair in the way, which he figures is good. It’s not too swollen or bloody, but it hurts like hell. He can deal with pain. Alex then goes to get changed, halfway out of his sweats when he remembers the pocketcam from the day before. He finishes getting dressed and grabs the camera out of his sweatpants, walking over to his phone so he can pull up the footage on the cloud storage he set up.

With reception as crappy as it is in Hope County it takes a few minutes before he can get it loaded, and when he does…he hesitates. Hannah and Sara could be back at any moment. He doesn’t want to lie to them any more than he already has, and if they catch him watching this footage he’d definitely have to lie. Alex gives the door one quick glance before he makes his decision. He walks out on the balcony, phone held in his hands as he turns it sideways and his play. Most of it is the walk up to the shrine which he fast forwards through. Then the angle is fixed on the shrine from where he sat to read the book of Joseph. He speeds up the footage by 4x and then stops it when the angle changes. He’s standing up, rushing to the edge overlooking a cliff and then turning around. The volume is so low that he can’t make out what Jacob Seed is saying, but moments later he’s walking away from the guy.

Alex watches it with wide eyes, lips parted in shock because he doesn’t remember _any_ of this. Then he sees the people in the background, red masks and one with a compound bow. They raise it and it looks like they’re about to _shoot him_. Alex holds his breath, knowing that can’t possibly be what happens, but it scares the hell out of him nonetheless. What happens next is even more confusing. For some reason the arrow goes flying past him and then he’s stumbling around like he’s drunk – not that he’s ever been drunk, but that’s what it looks like. Jacob Seed is so close to him he blocks out the camera’s view, camouflage and his shirt the only thing visible. He’s falling and the world goes upside down a couple of times until he comes to an abrupt stop.

He hits pause and takes a second to remind himself to _breathe_. In to the count of four, held for four, out on another four. Despite the volume being so low he could hear his own scream, the sound of his body impacting the rockface, and then _nothing_. The silence was almost as bad as the initial fall. _You’re fine, you’re alive and this is just another close call to add to the list._ He mentally gives himself a pep talk before hitting play again. Time drags on, even with the footage playing at double speed, but eventually he’s turned over and carefully lifted up and over the edge to where Jacob and someone else is waiting. The camera is mostly focused on the sky as he’s carried to the back of a truck and then laid in the backseat. He increases the playback speed and within ten seconds he’s being unloaded and carried into what must be John Seed’s home.

 _Here_. He slows it down. People pass back and forth around him, glimpses of unfamiliar faces. One man in particular keeps making an appearance. That must be the doctor that John Seed referenced. Alex thumbs the volume up until he can hear voices.

“If he remembers any of it, I’ll be surprised.” Jacob Seed’s voice, from off camera somewhere, “He took a hell of a fall John.”

“Nothing incriminating was said or done, but you should have been more careful.” John Seed this time, also off camera, but they speak clearly enough for Alex to understand their conversation.

“He’s just a kid John.” Jacob again, sounding nonplussed whereas John is on edge.

“He’s a kid with a platform.” John quickly argues, and Alex’s stomach flips, churning hot with anxiety at the realization that they _knew_. “They’ve got well over three million subscribers on YouTube. Their other social media presence is huge. We _cannot_ risk it.” _Fuck_. Alex’s heart is racing, cold dread shooting through his body as he stares at the screen, terrified of what this means.

“So what?” Jacob asks, and Alex would’ve laughed at his attitude towards the internet under other circumstances.

“They have an audience Jake. _He_ ,” a hand from off screen gestures at Alex’s unconscious body which gets a nervous sound from the doctor who is _much_ closer to the camera, “has sway. They’ve not uploaded anything about us, but they have to be here because someone contacted them.”

There’s a length of silence then, with only the sounds of latex gloves and the crinkle of gauze.

“Do we have a traitor?” Jacob asks, his voice low, dangerous.

“I _will_ find out if that’s the case.” John says it like a promise. “If one of our own turned on us they won’t be able to hide it from me.”

If there’s anything good to come of this, it’s that they don’t know Mark was the one to bring them here. Alex exhales, his heart still racing and face feeling tingly with fear. Someone moves close, it’s John, peering down at his unconscious face, and it makes Alex nauseous to witness.

“For your own sake doctor, I certainly hope he’ll make a full recovery.” It’s an ominous threat, as John’s blue eyes flash, darting up to look at the doctor no doubt, “Should _anything_ happen to him it’s on your watch.”

“O-of course Baptist. He’ll be fine I’m certain. A-although without a scan I can’t promise anything. Brains are f-fragile things.” The doctor speaks with a slight stutter, possibly from fear with how his voice wavers. “It’d be b-better if he woke up.”

John stares at someone, probably the doctor, one corner of his lips twitching upwards. Then he lowers one hand, settles it over Alex’s chest and _right next_ to the pocketcam. It seems like he’s feeling his heartbeat as he drums his fingers in time with it. “This is quite the predicament, hm?” John doesn’t seem to be speaking to anyone as he asks it before he pulls away and walks somewhere out of view. Jacob and John are talking again but it’s far enough off for him to not be able to understand any of it.

“You need to leave.” The doctor whispers at him, even though he’s unconscious, and Alex pulls the phone closer to his face, straining to hear him, “It isn’t safe here. Lord help me, but I pray you wake up and leave. For _both_ our sakes.”

“Are you done yet?” John’s voice cuts in and the doctor confirms he’s done, and nothing else happens. Alex speeds up the playback again, pausing now and then, but neither Jacob or John seem to be talking anymore. Eventually he stirs and that’s when he wakes up. He remembers _that_ so he hits the pause button and slides down to the balcony’s floor, sitting there in shock.

_He knows, he knows who we are and why we’re here._

The dread had only intensified, getting worse and worse with each passing minute of knowing that John knew. He can feel the anxiety turning to splashes of red on his face and down his neck – a reaction he hasn’t had in _years_. Alex runs his hands across his face, screaming into the palms of his hands. This isn’t something he can keep from Sara and Hannah, but if he tells them then they’re going to want to leave and Mark can’t do this alone.

He forces himself to breathe, to take stock of the situation and think it through.

Jacob didn’t seem to know what they were doing here, or who they were, which meant John was keeping this information to himself for some reason. Or he had been, but now Jacob was in on it, that they were investigating the Project. John didn’t know that Alex now knew, so maybe he could use that to his advantage? _Shit shit shit_.

He’s about to have a panic attack if he doesn’t get this under control. Alex starts his breathing exercise again, counting his inhales and exhales. It helps. He looks around and grabs onto the wooden railing, so he has something to ground himself with and that helps. He curls his fingers around the wood, feels the texture and slowly, but surely, he comes back to himself. Just in time too, because the door opens and he shoves his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, letting go of the railing and getting to his feet before either Sara or Hannah see him on the floor.

“We come bearing breakfast.” Sara announces, holding not one but _two_ plates of food. Hannah is close behind with a drink carrier that has four different Styrofoam cups in it. Alex has to lie, he knows it, and he hates himself for it. He walks back into the room from the balcony, brows lifted in surprise at all the food they’ve brought back.

“Wow, I should’ve stayed in bed.” Sara laughs and Hannah rolls her eyes.

_They don’t need to know._

He sits down on the floor, since their beds are currently bare of any linens, which Hannah notices and asks about, “Something wrong with the sheets?”

“Just felt like washing them.” Alex answers, maybe a little too quickly, but if Hannah thinks it’s odd, she doesn’t say anything. He breathes out a soft sigh of relief, taking the plastic fork and spearing a piece of sausage to eat before moving onto the scrambled eggs next. There was a plate of fresh fruit and some toast as well. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he began eating.

“Anna asked about you.” Sara said as she sat down across from him, stealing a strawberry from the fruit plate. “She seemed worried, said you looked tired yesterday.”

“Huh. I guess I was, I’m feeling a lot better now.” Other than the splitting headache and crippling fear of John Seed knowing who they were and why they were here… “Thanks for the food, how’d the date go last night?” Alex tries to shift the conversation off himself by putting Hannah in the spotlight. She owed them a rundown of what happened with the deputy after all.

Hannah takes a seat, forming their usual triangle of sorts on the ground and while Alex eats, she talks.

“It went alright.” She’s obviously hiding something. Hannah _never_ starts her stories like that, and it puts Alex on red alert. He keeps eating, occasionally looking over at her to gauge her reactions as she speaks. “He was born and raised here, grew up wanting to be a police officer to make a difference. Ended up getting certified to fly a helicopter for them and he likes working out.”

“A match made in heaven.” Sara says with a grin, elbowing Hannah, “Almost.”

“Yeah almost,” Hannah smiles at her, “but he didn’t seem to know who we are or why we’re here. He figures it has something to do with the Project, and he asked as much but I said we vlogged about places off the beaten path. Asked him for some places to check out while we’re visiting. He said nothing.” Here she pauses, looking at Sara and then Alex in turn. “He looked at me and said we need to leave.”

Hannah folds her arms in front of her stomach and curls forward, “I might’ve told him about Jacob.”

“You what?” Alex says and at the same time Sara shouts, “Hannah!”

“Listen I had a good reason.” She avoids looking at either of them for a moment, but when she doesn’t elaborate Alex twirls his wrist in a ‘go on’ motion, spinning the fork with a piece of pineapple on it.

“He’s trustworthy.” Hannah says matter-of-fact and Alex sighs.

“We don’t _know_ that.” Alex sets his food aside and then looks at the drink carrier, “Coffee?”

“Uh yerba mate?” Sara says it like a question, “From Anna.” Alex’s features pinch together and he gets up to go and start a pot of coffee with their own maker. “No thanks. But seriously Hannah, not cool. You should’ve talked with us first. Y’know, that _thing_ you told me to do the other day.” He feels a little guilty considering he’s still hiding things from them, but it’s different.

“Staci said the Project had eyes everywhere, and that they were dealing with it as best they could but that he couldn’t do anything if we got involved with them. He said Jacob was dangerous.” Hannah explains, mostly to Sara as Alex walks behind her to get a bottle of water to pour into the pot.

“No shit.” He mumbles under his breath.

“What did he say?” Sara asks, “About what we saw in the mountains.”

“Not much. He said it was smart of us to not show ourselves and get out of there, but he said that we shouldn’t go back.” Hannah runs a hand through her hair as she talks.

“Not go back where?” Alex looks over his shoulder at them, confused as to what he meant.

“To the mountains.” Hannah clarifies and both Alex and Sara look at one another.

“Uh, what?” Alex asks, “That’s a _lot_ of territory that we might have to explore. Why aren’t we supposed to go back there?” He sees Hannah open her mouth and he predicts what she’s going to say, saying it at the same time as her, their voices echoing one another, “He didn’t say.”

Hannah blinks and then glares at him, but Alex only sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

“So you told him we’re doing a tourism vlog, that you and Sara were witnesses at a crime scene and he gave you nothing in return?” Alex surmises as the coffee drips into the pot.

“Not nothing. He talked about the Project having been here for years, and that they’ve been shoring up their numbers. Not just from out of towners but from a lot of locals as well. He’s worried. The local law can’t handle them anymore and they’re just trying to keep the peace but it’s pretty clear to most everyone that the Project has a hold on things. It’s all formalities at this point with everyone tip-toeing around each other waiting for someone to shoot first.”

“Jesus.” Sara breathes, turning to look at Alex with a concerned frown.

He pours himself a cup of coffee and walks back over to sit down. The fear from watching the pocketcam footage is festering behind his ribcage, making his heart feel tight, but he keeps his composure for their sake.

“Okay, assuming Staci is trustworthy, he’s basically just told us the law isn’t going to do anything, like Mark said. We’re on our own here until we get enough evidence to force some outside involvement.” Alex sips from his coffee while he talks, and Sara blanches.

“Can we do that?”

“We did before with the senator-story.” Alex points out, but Sara doesn’t look convinced. “It’s what we’re good at, we can do this.” When neither girl says anything, he takes in a breath and tries to change the tone of the conversation, pick their spirits up some, “Okay so Staci knows we are onto the Project and has verified they’re pretty serious. Sara what did you find out with the journal?”

“Not much…” Sara begins, and she too seems hesitant to share. Alex frowns to himself, looking between his two best friends while trying to figure out what was going on. Hannah wasn’t sharing everything that had happened at the bar with the deputy, and now Sara seemed reserved about sharing her research which was usually something she _loved_ to talk about.

 _What’s happening here_?

The dread from watching the footage earlier is now getting even worse, like he’s sinking deeper into a dark ravine as he watches his friends’ distance themselves from one another.

“Joseph hears a voice.” Sara’s voice is meek, so unlike her usual self that Alex isn’t sure he heard her right at first.

“A voice?” He asks, to which Hannah narrows her eyes.

“Yeah. He writes down some of what it tells him, but he’s heard it for years, since he was a child.” Sara says, which Alex knows as much from his own preliminary reading of the book of Joseph. “It’s warning him about the end, what he calls the Collapse. Every step he’s taken in moving his congregation has been from signs given to him by it.”

Hannah scoffs, and Sara looks somewhat irritated by it, which Alex notices. He’s quick to intervene.

“Okay. Anything else?” He tries to sound encouraging and that gets a small smile from Sara.

“A lot of his personal notes were about trying to save Pastor Jerome, and the people of Hope County. It sounds like he really thinks he’s helping, or trying to help.” Sara’s expression darkens, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t aware of what John or Jacob are doing.”

Hannah stares at Sara, and Alex takes a longer drink from his coffee, needing the caffeine to help him figure this out.

“Well that’s something.” Hannah shoots him a look and he shrugs, because it _was_ something, but he didn’t know what exactly that something was. Not yet at least.

“Mark said that John is who Linny spent the most time with, other than Joseph.” Alex thinks aloud, which both Sara and Hannah are quick to pick up on.

“So we focus on them, and try to get to Linny that way.” Hannah throws her two cents in and Sara is quick to follow with her own plan of action, “But we can also learn more about them and if there’s illegal stuff going on then we record it and send it to the authorities.”

“Bingo.” Alex smiles at them both, feeling a little bit better now that they were on the same page, but still feeling an underlying uncertainty because of how many secrets there seemed to be between the three of them. Sure, they all had their own secrets to keep, but when they worked a case they…they didn’t. Or at least they hadn’t before.

“I’m going to meet with Mark today. We’re going to go drive around and check some spots for Linny and hopefully he can tell me more about Hope County.” Hannah stands up as she talks, walking over to get a jacket in case the temperature dipped.

“I want to read more of the journal and do some online research.” Sara says from where she’s still seated on the ground. “I feel like I’m only at the tip of the iceberg with these writings.”

That left Alex the odd man out. He finishes off his coffee and sets the mug down on the desk. “I’ll take the car into town and poke around, subtly.”

“Meet back here tonight?” Hannah asks to which they nod.

“But first I’ll clean this up.” He nods at the pile of sheets and bundles them up into one big ball, carrying them out of the room and down the stairs. Anna is at the front desk, _again_ and watching him.

“Oh if you needed the sheets changed you could’ve told me!” She starts to walk over and Alex walks faster, beating her to the laundry room where he piles them in before she can get a glimpse of bloodstained pillow cases.

“No biggie, I sometimes get the urge to clean.” Alex smiles politely at her, the growing dread in his chest making it harder to breathe.

“That’s awful sweet of you, well your clothes are right there in the hamper.” She points at a bin beside the door and Alex says his thanks, before asking, “Mind if I leave them here until this load is done? I’ll take it all up later.”

“Of course.” Anna steps aside as he walks out of the room and for the front door.

“If y’all need anything call the front desk, we’re here to help!” She calls after him, and Alex shouts back, “Okay!”

He powerwalks to the SUV, unlocks it and only lets out a held breath once the door’s closed and he’s alone. Later tonight he’d talk to Sara and Hannah, either alone or together and figure out what was up with them, but until then he needed to clear his head with some fresh air.

So he drives off in no particular direction, following the river until he passes by a marina that seems to be packed with fishers and boats fueling up. Just beyond that are the Whitetails, and he remembers what Hannah said, or rather what Staci told her. Don’t go back there. He decides he’ll drive through, staying on the main road before circling back around to Holland Valley. Maybe he’d stop and visit with Pastor Jerome if he wasn’t busy. The guy seemed easy enough to talk to, and he might be able to help with this John Seed situation.

Eventually Alex pulls over on the side of the road and consults his map of the area. It looks like he’s beside a stretch of land belonging to a cattle farmer. The urge to pet a cow is overwhelming, but he resists it in favor of figuring out where he is.

Cars drive past him, none seeming to pay him any mind, but eventually one slows and stops. Alex turns to see a familiar SUV and he sighs.

Out gets John Seed. He walks closer, stopping beside his driver’s side door that unfortunately had the window down. John leans against it, making himself comfortable without asking.

“Alright, be honest with me. Are you following me?” Alex asks, sounding somewhat melodramatic and John grins at him. It isn’t the shark grin from Lorna’s, nor is it the _knowing_ one from his ranch the other day. It seems genuine.

“I’d say we’re destined to run into one another.” John remarks, like he’s saying the sky is blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, for those that are! <3 Life be bananas so this updates when it updates, appreciate those who kudo and comment.


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